Super Paper Mario X
by Child at Heart Forever
Summary: It's been six months since Teams Mario, ZAP, Luigi, and BEG have seen each other, but the threat of the worlds being sucked into The Void by a gang of teleporting foes just may be enough to bring them back together...even if it all was unintentional.
1. Those That Are to be Wed

**_From the creator who brought you Paper Mario X, the smash-hit sequel Paper Mario X 2: The Thousand-Year Door,_ _and it's worthy spin-off, Paper Luigi X, comes yet another installment- _**_***record scratch***_

**Hi! And no, this is not a movie. This is the third installment in the Paper Mario X series that most of you reading this have been waiting for! And for you new people, if you haven't read any of the previous stories, then it's probably a good idea because most of the things that happen in this story you won't understand. Just a heads up- I'd really recommend doing that. Especially PLX cuz I'm certainly not all of you have caught up with that, and it's pretty important later on. **

**And now, Enjoy! ^^**

* * *

Super Paper Mario X

Prologue: Those That Are to be Wed

Deep in the woods beyond Toad Town…rested a house with the word "Mario" sprawled across the front. This was obviously the house of the Mario Bros. Inside the house sat Mario and Luigi, enjoying cups of Koopa Tea. Mario glanced at two pictures sitting on a shelf behind their table. One was of an adventure long before, and the other was of a vacation gone horribly awry. In both pictures, were himself and four of his best friends and their two sets of partners. It had been six months since he'd seen them, after they all made an agreement to stay in their home worlds for awhile.

A third picture sat next to the two of Mario, this one of Luigi and a group of his own. Mario was actually quite proud Luigi pulled off a long adventure of his own, and even lead a team of his own! But, unfortunately for them, they had just met and were also pulled into the "agreement", meaning they most likely wouldn't see each other for a second time.

The only connection they still had was in the form of colored-coated communication watches that were _only_ to be used for emergencies.

Mario smiled thinking about all of them as Luigi yawned, tired from the simple simpleness of the day- currently.

"…Wow, sure is peaceful today, eh Bro?" he asked. Mario gave a nod. "Makes a guy feel lucky, having such a peaceful day…yup, reeeeeeeal peaceful. So peaceful, it's almost a little bit boring. It makes you just want a…KERBLOOEY! You know? Some kind of shocking event…"

Mario knew very well Luigi was foreshadowing an event- with all his prior adventuring , he knew all about signs like these. Mario thought for a moment before guessing Peach was probably getting herself kidnapped. Luigi jumped in his seat.

"…Ooh, at Princess' Peach's castle maybe? That'd be cool, huh Bro? Maybe we should go visit Mushroom Castle! It has been awhile- I'm sure the princess would be happy to see us!"

They both jumped up at the same time and trotted out the door. No sooner had they left when trouble arrived on their doorstep.

"M-M-M-Mario! HELP!"

"T-Toad?" gaped Luigi. "What? What happened? Why are you so crazy?"

"It's s-s-s-shocking…Mushroom Castle…RAIDED! Princess Peach…STOLEN!"

In retrospect that wasn't shocking at all.

Luigi, however, had different thoughts. "WHAAAAT! Why, that's ridiculous! Who in this world would do such a thing?" Mario glanced at his little brother while Luigi did a double-take. "Wait a second…Yeah…I've think I got it! Bro, this must be the work of that guy! That bad guy!"

Mario hardly needed to think about what "bad guy" Luigi was talking about, giving a "Yeah!" in response.

"I won't stand for this…we'll have to sneak into his castle and save Princess Peach! Let's go, Bro!"

Mario: Oh yes!

Toad just stood in awe as the pair of heroes went to save their princess…again.

"We're counting on you, Mario…Bros.!"

**Meanwhile, at Bowser's Castle-**

"BWA HA HA! Listen well, my elite minion task force!" Bowser boomed to his followers. "It's time to initiate my awesome plan to invade Mushroom Castle! Today is the day I make my beloved Princess all mine! And if that weren't awesome enough, I'll also stomp her mustache baddies! No one, not even hedgehogs or power-suited women, will stop me!"

"YEAH!" was what erupted from the crowd.

**Then-**

"Whoa!" "Your Rudeness!" "We're under attack!" "Bowser! Bowser! Woo!"

Bowser just lightly laughed. "Bwa ha ha ha! "We're under attack!" You jokers are the best!"

Bowser: !

"Hey! Who are those two hairy guys in the back? We SHAVE around here, minions!"

The crowd dispersed as Bowser was getting ready to land on them, ending up in front of Mario and Luigi.

"Blargh! Mario…AND Luigi? ! How'd you get in here?"

Mario: The front gate was open!

Bowser went into a blind fury and started stomping his foot. "How many times have I told those idiots! If you're the last one in, LOCK THE GATE!"

Mario and Luigi took fighting stances, Luigi giving Bowser a glare as well. "Quiet, you big Bowser! We know you kidnapped Princess Peach! Now where'd you put her? !"

Bowser stopped having a fit and looked genuinely confused. "Where'd I…wait, what? We're only just about to launch our atta-"

"MARIO! HELP!"

Mario, Luigi, and Bowser stopped the argument and looked around to see where Peach's voice had rang out from. She suddenly appeared in mid-air, protected by a barrier of hexagons.

"Princess Peach! ?"

And if that wasn't odd enough, a white caped man teleported into the room, wearing a monocle and holding a scepter.

"BLECK! Your princess has been taken…by Count Bleck!" the man bellowed.

"You...wait, by WHO?" Bowser questioned. Count Bleck gave a simply bow and never faltered his bat-like smile.

"By me…Count Bleck! The Chosen executioner of the Dark Prognosticus…is Count Bleck! The fine fellow prophesized to come to this dimension…is also Count Bleck!"

"I'll tell you who doesn't even make a bit of sense…Count Bleck!" quipped Bowser. "Enough! Release Princess Peach right now! I'm on a schedule over here!"

"Count Bleck says NEVER! This princess is integral to fulfilling the prophecies…she will be brought to Castle Bleck and be used to destroy all worlds…by Count Bleck!"

Luigi and Mario were dumbstruck. "Destroy…all...WORLDS! ?"

That was already out of the question. When all the worlds were threatened for whatever reason, that meant Team Mario, a group made of Mario himself, Link, Sonic, Kirby, and Samus would join together to stop whoever was behind it. Even Luigi's team, Malon, Tails, Meta Knight, and Knuckles, could help out!

The only problem…none of them had talked in months, and who knew what everyone else was up to at this point. Mario stared at the red communication watch he sported on his right wrist, glanced at Luigi's green one, and the medium shade pink one Peach had hidden by her long gloves. Mario had plans to call them, but first he had to save Peach. He made a bold jump at Count Bleck, only to be bounced back by an invisible force the Count donned himself.

Mario: What the…

Count Bleck, with a quite smug face, spread his cape and aimed a blast of purple swirliness at Mario, engulfing him with it. At first it was nothing, until Mario was spun around and thrown effortlessly to the ground. Luigi looked over him worriedly and moaned, "Big Bro!"

"This man deserves ridicule…weaklings cannot face Count Bleck!"

"Hey, here's a thought: you calm down and free the princess…OR ELSE!" boomed Bowser.

"Bleh heh heh heh…your princess shall not be returned…by Count Bleck. In fact, Bowser, evil king of the koopas…Count Bleck will take you too!"

"WHAT!"

Bleck cackled madly as he spread his cape again, sucking Bowser, the minions, and accidentally Luigi, into the purple portal he whipped up.

"I'M DONE FOR!" "MOMMY!" "Why am I being taken too? !"

"Bleh heh heh Bleck! Count Bleck's preparations are now in order! All that remains is for the dimensional void to appear, as foretold in the prophecy…but before that happens, the other two situations must occur…"

Bleck teleported to where he had sent Bowser, Luigi, and Peach.

The castle was emptied of everyone except for the unconscious Mario…

**Meanwhile on Mobius-**

The Blue Blur cut through the green grass, racing after his arch nemesis. Two robots came at him from opposite directions; he jumped up and simultaneously kicked them both in the "face". He front flipped and began to run once more. When the sight of a metal contraption came into view, Sonic dug his heels into the ground to brake.

"Hurry up and help me, Sonic! SONIC!"

"Why'd you have to go and get yourself KIDNAPPED again, Amy? ! Just bash the baddies with your hammer!"

"I was sleeping, for your information!"

Sonic was racing after Amy, being held captive once again by Dr. Eggman. Currently, as they spoke, Sonic and Eggman were engaged in a duel to the death for Amy's possession. The mad doctor was sitting high in an Egg Tarantula, sending androids to hinder the speedster's progress and firing lases-like webs at Sonic, who evaded everything with ease. To Sonic, it seemed like Eggman didn't even want to fight at all!

"What're your motives, Eggman?" Sonic demanded to know, sidestepping another sticky laser. "You don't kidnap innocent girls without dark intentions!"

"I am to be known as Robotnik, hedgehog, and I was informed by a very reliable source that they can grant me a power to rule the worlds!"

"Worlds? As in, more than one? !" Sonic exclaimed. His right fist tightened, making his own cobalt blue watch shine in the light. Amy gasped and lifted her left hand- this one donned with a reddish-pink watch.

"We can call in our teams!" she realized.

"Yeah, you're right! But I've gotta get you free first..." threw in Sonic, striking Eggman's machine dead center and knocking it over. Eggman spilled out and laid sprawled on the ground. This gave Sonic a chance to save Amy, as originally intended.

"That's right Sonic…you go save her…"

Sonic jumped up to the cage Amy was being kept it, and kicked the lock right off the door-again, surprisingly easy. Amy instantly jumped out, hammer ready to give Eggman a violent talk as Sonic was suddenly shocked by electricity. he had been setting up to tutne his communicator on when his whole body was filled with an intense, electrifying zap.

"Oh hohoho…" Eggman had pulled out a paralyzing gun and began to electrocute Sonic. "You don't know how LONG I've waited to do that!"

"AAAAAAAAUUUUGGHHHH!"

"Stop doing that to Sonic!" Amy shouted, whacking Eggman in the head several times. Eggman seethed his anger and grabbed her by the shoulders when she lunged in for another bashing.

"What if I told you that your dream of marrying Sonic could come true if you just follow along with this…"

"Why should I believe you! ? I bet its just a trap to lure me into your scheme, if I'm not in it already!"

"Why would I mention such a thing I don't even care about if I didn't mean it?"

"You…you have a point…" Amy trailed, very unsurely. Eggman gave a sadistic grin.

"Yes…"

"But you've gotta stop shocking Sonic!"

Eggman frowned slightly, hit the same red button, and Sonic fell meekly into the cage. The door slammed shut behind him. Sonic went limp, slightly moaning. Amy yelped again and glared at Eggman.

"You're up to something-"

"Yes, but I'm still not lying." He then snapped his fingers. "Oh, Dimentio!"

A jester-like being materialized out of thin air, and looked down at Eggman.

"Oh joy! You've gotten the two spoken of in the Dark Prognosticus! My happiness is like a child opening the first present on Christmas day!"

"Yes, well…we have to hurry to the altar. They are a feisty duo…" Eggman murmured. Dimentio nodded.

"Oh yes, yes! ...I see the pink one is quite rambunctious?"

Eggman hadn't let go of Amy, and she was now gnawing at Eggman's hand. Eggman yelled out while Dimentio blew some strange powder at Amy. She instantly became drowsy and started to fall asleep in Eggman's arms.

"That dust will only last until we reach our destination, so I'll meet you there! Ciao!"

Dimentio snapped his fingers, teleporting once again.

"They…can teleport…too?" Amy muttered before fully becoming knocked out. Eggman grunted something under his breath while he loaded up Amy and Sonic and drove off, wondering if he could really trust this Dimentio...

Unknown to them, they were being spied on, and the spiers had witnessed everything, AND caught wind of the plan.

"Did you see that, Knuckles! ?" Tails gasped from their hiding place behind a huge boulder. "I _knew_ something was going to go wrong! I would've at least saved Amy, but that jester-guy seemed really threatening…didja see the glint in his eye?"

"Ha. I could've easily taken out that clown…but Sonic told you to stay away in the first place, _didn't_ he Tails?"

"Well yeah…but then THAT scene happened and Sonic and Amy are going to be married for evil purposes!" Tails quickly jumped up and pointed forward. "We've gotta save them, then we head back to my workshop to try and contact the others!"

He bounded off the rock, not wasting any time in catching up to their friends and the villians. Knuckles just blinked and scrambled after Tails. "W-Wait for me! Who ever said I wanted to get caught up with this? !"

"I don't want Eggman ruling our world, or anybody else's for THAT matter! Now let's go Knuckles!"

"Okay, okay…I just hope you know what you're doing…"

**And while THAT was happening-**

"Oooh, Zelda! I can't believe this day has finally COME!" Malon squealed, doing Princess Zelda's hair. "I can't believe it's FINALLY happening! I'm _so_excited! Eeee!"

"Calm down, Malon!" Zelda laughed, smoothing out her dress. "Your overexcitement is going to frazzle my hair!"

"Oh WHOOPS! Sorry…but you and Link…_married_! The very thought!"

Zelda laughed again. "I know! And that was the same day you gave us the watches…"

She held her purple-pink one in hand to emphasize the statement, and Malon's eyes widened.

"Zelda, you took it off? ! What if something happens? !" she panicked. "I've never even taken mine off- Tails said they're water-proof- and the one time you do, BAM! Emergency!"

"Malon, it's my wedding! Do you really want my wedding beauty to be spoiled by a magenta speck on my wrist?"

"Well…no…but, it's just means a lot because it's the last connection we have with our friends and they're not even going to _be_ here for your big day…"

"You have a point…" sighed Zelda. "But you said so yourself- Tails said they're for world-wide emergencies only!"

Malon sighed sadly too and started to place on Zelda's veil.

"And don't think it's only effecting me! People will be there for my wedding because I'm going to be the Queen of Hyrule…but, despite the fact he won't show it, Link's upset because no one's really going to be there for him. He doesn't even have a best man, and I don't have any bride's maids either! But, back to Link…his side of the altar will be as good as bare…"

Malon gave Zelda's head a final sympathetic pat before stepping back to see the finished product. "Oh, you look _gorgeous_ Zelda! Your hair and jewelry flow so well with the diamond theme of your dress!"

"Thank you…now shouldn't you be getting ready, Flower Girl?"

"Oh YEAH! I forgot that! I was too busy messing with your long blonde hair…see you soon!"

Malon clunked out of the room, leaving Zelda sighing at her own reflection of the mirror.

"I wish I could see Link now…but it's "bad luck" to see me in my wedding dress beforehand…"

"Nervous, Princess? Or simply troubled…"

Zelda looked over her shoulder to see Impa standing in the doorway.

"I'm worried- about Link…I wish we never made that agreement, then our other world friends would be here to support him…he may be the Hero of Time and things like that, but he still doesn't get around much…and that worries me. No one will be there for him and-"

Impa put a hand on her shoulder. "No worries…I see a happy wedding in the future…"

Zelda gave a small smile. "At least I can always trust your wisdom, I suppose…"

She stood up, knowing it was nearing time for the wedding.

. .

Link was shaking in his tux-tunic, eagerly awaiting the wedding to start also.

. .

And in one of the chairs, sitting and watching the wedding eagerly, was a girl.

"Oh, this makes my job _much_ easier…"

* * *

**And since I'm so nice I'll probably upload the next chapter as well. ^^ (though probably not until tomorrow- I'm a bit busy) This chapter was mainly to get you excited. XD And technically, this scene happens before the actual marriage, so I put it first, in case you're wondering. I only hope I'm able to pull this story off- there are actually a LOT of complicated things that go on...but all will be explained eventually! For now, let's hear what you think, please! :D**


	2. Three Marriages and a Black hole

Super Paper Mario X

Chapter 1: Three Marriages and a Black hole

"I'm so nervous!" Link whispered to the guy who was going to marry him and Zelda, frantically messing with a black tuxedo variant of his tunic. "I mean, we've rehearsed, but the real thing…"

The guy nodded. "Trust me, I know, I know…"

Link just gulped again and stared out into the crowd. Zelda's side- all the people of Castle Town and then some- there were so many they overflowed into Link's side! And Link's side…well, he decided he didn't want to mention it. The wedding went by faster than a usual one, due to the lack of people actually in the wedding, and Flower Girl Malon was already skipping down the isle. She was in a dress outfit similar to the one she "borrowed" from Strudel so long ago. The petals she was scattering were "Amy Rose" petals, by Zelda's request. Once she was next to Link, she gave him a huge grin and took her spot.

"You look pretty, Malon…" Link said quietly. Malon giggled and replied with a thanks. Then, the wedding march started up, and everyone there instantly rose. Link felt himself stand straighter. The doors opened, and there was Zelda- more radiant and luminous than Link could ever imagine possible. He was almost getting ready to faint, but Malon kept him standing straight. By Zelda's side was Impa, who was really the only one who had the authority to give Zelda away. The princess, soon-to-be-queen, stepped down the isle in time with the tune. Malon looked proud as she stated, "I did her hair!"

Link just smiled and waited as the long seconds passed until Zelda was finally next to him. He removed her veil and was completely speechless. Zelda smirked and asked, "What, too much for you to handle?"

"…no."

Zelda just laughed as the man started the "We are gathered here today…" speech.

**Skipping to the Part where he Says-**

"…if there is anyone who believes these two should not be wed, speak now or forever hold your peace."

"I OBJECT!" shouted a female voice. Link, Zelda, and Malon's heads all shot to the source of the cry- A little green girl sitting in the front row. She suddenly started floating in the air with a sadistic grin.

"I have no objections to the princess getting married, but not to THAT scrub!" she cackled.

"Hey, who are you calling a scrub! ?" Link shouted. "Get out of here- you're ruining our big day!"

"Yeah, we don't even KNOW you!" added Zelda.

"Oh, golly, I'd LOVE to, but I just can't sit around and let this happen! I promised the Count I'd help him fix these terrible worlds!"

"What're you talking about! ?" Malon shouted. The girl just snickered and transformed into an exact copy of Malon. Everyone in the room screamed and instantly ran for the exit. Luckily, Link had his sword on him, unsheathed it, and jumped in front of the girls. Malon joined in the screaming and pointed at her copy.

"She…she looks like_ me!_ AUGH!"

"And she certainly isn't a Duplighost…" muttered Link. He charged at the girl, but now armed with Malon's abilities, she easily jumped up and avoided the attack. She even went as far as to clonk Link on the head with a Boot Bash. Link yelped and collapsed onto the ground.

"What…the…" Link moaned, slowly losing consciousness. The Malon-clone just landed onto the ground delicately and folded her arms.

"You didn't know there's a pressure point on your head, did you? Yeah, I just kicked you there. Night, night!"

"LINK!" Zelda cried in agony before glaring at the fake. "You! You ruined my wedding and now you knocked out my fiancé!"

"All part of the plan sister!" was the giggly response. Zelda growled and lit up her hands with flames.

"DIN'S FIRE!"

"Whaaaaa-"

The mysterious girl was blasted with powerful fire and into the next wall. She tried to attack back with a copied Bow and Arrow, but Zelda called upon Nayru's Love to shield her. The arrows were reflected and hit the girl instead.

"Owwie! You play way too rough!"

Zelda landed fiercely on the ground, hands blazing with magic. "Be lucky I can't pierce you with a Light Arrow!"

The girl just whimpered until she cried out with, "NASTASIA!"

A secretary-like woman teleported out of nowhere, shocking Zelda and Malon greatly.

"You called for my service? Make it snappy- I've got two other weddings to attend today!"

"Well I've done the dirty work, you gotta use your powers now!"

Nastasia just folded her arms and sighed. "The things I do…whatever. Where's the Dark Lord who's supposed to marry the second princess, Mimi?"

Mimi snapped her fingers, and Ganondorf appeared out of thin air, similar to Nastasia, and he was angry.

"He and I already had a chat… he's down with the fact he can get married."

Ganondorf clutched a fist and glared at the ground. "…she promised me Domination of the Worlds, and I can't refuse such an offer."

He then made a face. "Though the idea of marriage makes me gag…who's going to be my bride, at least?"

Nastasia pointed to Zelda, whose face was utterly distorted.

"You sabotage my wedding with Link so you can hitch me with _Ganondorf?" _Zelda gagged. "You are some sick, twisted people!"

Mimi laughed loudly and pushed Zelda back onto the altar, with Nastasia guiding Ganondorf. He was already in a tuxedo, grinning at not only the thought of ruling all the worlds, but then he'd be the king of Hyrule if he married Zelda. Nastasia then appeared in the middle of them, never faltering her serious expression.

"Let's get this over with, K? All you two need to do is say "I do." That's it, and the prophecy can begin."

Ganondorf just muttered, "I do…"

Zelda firmly said nothing.

"Hmm, stubborn are we?"

"I refuse to say it. I'm in love with Link, and he's the only one I'll ever marry!"

"Yeah, well, too bad girl. You're marrying Ganondorf whether you like it or not!"

"Make me."

"Gladly."

Nastasia lowered her glasses and surrounded Zelda with a hypnotizing red shock. Zelda gasped and struggled to fight it back, but it was no use. Nastasia's power was taking her over. Nastasia even dared to smirk.

"I'll even do it double, Smarty…"

Meanwhile, Malon was by Link's side, frantically trying to wake him up. As a last resort, she used her flute's magic to get him to come to. When Link groaned, Malon gave a sigh of relief and hugged him.

"Oh, thank the goddesses you're okay…"

"Malon…what happened….where's Zelda…"

Malon glanced over her shoulder and gasped at what she saw. Link managed to look over too, and he froze.

Zelda was holding Ganondorf's hands and smiling.

"Ganondorf…I've always loved you, despite all the trouble you've caused to my kingdom. There was always something about you…Link is nothing in comparison to you."

Ganondorf just gave her a weird look while Nastasia tried to maintain her serious expression. Mimi, on the sidelines, was actually giggling.

"…and yes, I say…I do…"

"Perfect!" cried Mimi, laughing like a madwoman now. Nastasia stifled a smug grin and teleported to her next destination. Malon frantically turned from Zelda to Link and started to panic.

"Link! It's really not what you-"

"No, Malon. Don't try to make me feel better."

"Link! What are you saying! ? Zelda doesn't mean that; listen to me!" Link just shook his head sadly and pulled out his sword. "Where are you going? You've gotta help her!"

"Ganondorf can…I've got several worlds to save…"

"LINK!"

Malon tried to stop him, but jerked back when his sharp Master Sword came way too close to her outstretched hand.

"Don't you DARE…LINK!"

Link, squeezing his eyes tightly, teleported. He didn't know where- just anywhere but there. He disappeared within a second, and Malon was rapidly pounding the ground.

"URGH! This is awful! Link thinks Zelda never loved him, and now she and Ganondorf are unofficially married!" Malon gave a nasty glare to Mimi, and shouted, "Where'd that Nastasia character go off to? ! I'm going to beat her for doing that to Link and Zelda!"

Mimi just shrugged and lifted a hand. "Why don't you to go and find out?"

She caused Zelda, who was still seemingly love-struck with Ganondorf, and Malon to be enveloped in "boxes" and were sent to another unknown location. Ganondorf just blinked and turned to Mimi.

"So…can I start ruling now?"

Mimi burst out into a cackle. "Ha! Did you really think I'd let you in on the count's plan! ? You were a mere tool, you stupid head! You can go rule some OTHER world, but you're going to stay out of OUR way!"

"WHAAAAAT!"

Mimi clapped her hands, and Ganondorf was gone too.

"Hm, that should've gone a lot better…I hope that guy I let teleport away doesn't mess with anyone…"

As she also vanished from the church, she also pondered-

"I also hope he's not the Man in Green we need to help us…"

. . . . . .

"What the Chaos…"

Sonic blinked his eyes several times to get them to open, but it was hard, since he was still aching from the several electrocutions. What he managed to gather was that he was at an altar, Amy was standing right across from him in a wedding dress looking way too eager, him in a tuxedo, and Eggman standing to the right of him.

"Glad you woke up in time for your wedding, Sonic…" Eggman tisked.

"…huh?"

"We're getting married Sonic!" Amy cried. "Isn't it a dream come true! ?"

"More like a _nightmare_ come true!" he exclaimed while trying to stand up, grabbing his head. Eggman coughed and continued to read from his book.

"Amy…do you take Sonic to be your beloved husband, for better or for worse, until your games are over?"

Amy excitedly jumped up and down. "I DO! I DO! I DO! I-"

"Okay. Sheesh. And do you, Sonic-"

"NO!" Sonic yelled. "I've still got a long life to live, and I don't want it to end by committing it to Amy!"

"Just say you do, Sonic, and we can live happily ever after!" Amy squealed. "Say it! Say it! Say it! Say-"

"Shut up already!" roared Eggman. He then glared at Sonic. "Say "I do" or suffer the consequences…"

Sonic put his foot down. "Never! Now I'm outta here!"

He turned to run away, but crashed straight into a barrier and fell over. Dimentio appeared and gave an amused laugh.

"Ahaha. You fool- you are not permitted to leave until the deed is done!"

"Well, it'll never BE done, so you can just forget about it!" Sonic yelled back. "I don't know what the heck is going on, but when I suddenly wake up in a tuxedo and Amy in a wedding dress, I know this isn't a good situation! Now step aside, you pathetic excuse for a clown!"

Dimentio faked pain. "Oh! Your words! They hurt like a thousand arrows piercing me while I'm being dipped in acid!…not. So get up there and say the stupid words."

"How many times do I have to say NO? !"

"Just once more," Nastasia answered, arriving on the scene. She turned to Dimentio. "I suppose you're having problems, also?"

"Well, it's not really a problem, but more of a…hindrance."

Nastasia glanced down to Sonic. "I suppose it's the blue one, isn't it?"

Eggman gave a nod. "I told you he was a hyper-active one."

"I refused to be used in a ploy to destroy all worlds!"

Nastasia rolled her eyes and lowered her glasses again. "Just quiet down, K? You'll have no free will in a few seconds anyway. Now, say I do."

The first round of hypnotizing rendered Sonic unchanged. "No will! ? Are you serious? My will is what keeps me strong! And there's no way you're going to get me to marry Amy!"

"Please Sonic! ?"

"For the love of rings, NO!"

"Look, I admire your willpower, but you're going to say I do no matter what. So just give it up."

The second time, Sonic felt a little shock, but still didn't say the words. "Also, I never give up, lady. Do you not know who I am or something? Because the rest of the universe apparently does."

Nastasia growled and turned her hypnosis up another notch. This time, the pain was great enough to send Sonic to the ground, yet he still didn't say it. Amy was starting to look a little disappointed and Eggman was watching through narrowed eyes.

"He's tough…but not unbreakable."

Nastasia nodded. "Then I'll just keep breaking him."

"You can't…break me…" Sonic grunted.

"Just say it, Sonic…" Amy quivered. "I don't want to see you hurt like this!"

Sonic just groaned again.

"SAY I DO!"

Nastasia tried to hypnotize him once again, putting her powers to full force. Sonic was zapped so hard he went flying into the air and stayed suspended for several seconds. His quills stood out on end, and Amy almost couldn't tolerate his scream- and the same went for Eggman. Nastasia just kept straining her power- no one would overcome it! Sonic clenched his fists, and through gritted teeth seethed, "NEVER!"

The mere force of the will power bounced back to Nastasia and ended up giving her a headache. Sonic yelped and fell onto the ground after floating in the air for a long amount of time. Eggman sighed deeply as Dimentio smacked his head.

"The final girl must marry her true love!" Dimentio exhausted.

"Amy…is not my true love…" Sonic panted.

"You don't think so…yet, at least."

Amy perked up. "There's hope! ?"

"No offense, Amy, but there isn't…I'm just a guy who loves adventure- I can't commit myself to something like a girlfriend, let alone…_gulp_… a wife!" Sonic explained while standing up again. "I've gotta run free and I can't let things like this hold me back!"

Amy's eyes softened. "Is that why you never…" Sonic nodded. "…Why didn't you say so before? ! I was too blinded by love to see that!"

"Probably because you'd be too deafened by love to hear me."

"Well, what are we supposed to do now! ?" Nastasia hissed. She hoped her headache wasn't karma for what she did to Zelda. "He won't say I do!"

Dimentio rolled his eyes and harshly shoved Sonic toward Amy. "He can still kiss the bride."

"What!" Sonic managed to gasp out before falling onto Amy, and they both unintentionally kissed. Eggman slammed his book shut and pouted.

"I didn't even get to do my part…oh well- the worlds are still mine!"

"Um, yeah, about that…" Dimentio began. "…I lied."

He snapped his fingers, trapping Eggman in a box, and banishing him somewhere else without another word. Nastasia just watched Sonic and Amy unsurely and shook her head.

"I've got places to be…"

Before she left though, Tails and Knuckles randomly arrived on the scene.

"Give us back our friends, creepy jester guy and…lady!" Tails called, trying to be threatening and striking a battle pose. Sonic struggled to pull away from the dreaded event that was happening to him, but Amy wanted it to last as long as possible. Tails glanced over, only to have his jaw drop to the floor. "AUGH! It's terrible! Look, Knuckles!"

"You're right! Sonic's wearing a tuxedo!"

"NO! He's kissing Amy!"

"WAGH! ?"

Sonic finally managed to pull free and frantically wiped his face. "Way to come a few seconds too late, you two!"

"Yeah! You missed our wedding!" Amy called cheerfully.

"We are NOT married!"

"Yes you are!" Nastasia interrupted. "And at this point, you two should be consumed by darkness right about…now."

Sonic and Amy exchanged glances before a small dark portal suddenly materialized and started to suck them in. Amy was consumed instantly, and Sonic reacted fast enough to grab her hand.

"Augh! Don't let go, Sonic!"

"Do you really think I would! ?"

Sonic was fighting the force of the portal, but man did it have some strength behind it! Amy was being pulled in more and more until only her hand stuck out.

"We're coming Sonic!" Knuckles yelled, knowing he was strong enough to pull Amy out. Tails flew quickly after, until they crashed into some sort of barrier like Sonic did.

Dimentio gave Tails and Knuckles a warning glance.

"If you know what good for you, you won't interfere…Ciao!"

Sonic could be heard screaming when he too, was sucked into the portal. Tails jumped to grab his foot.

"No! SONIC!"

"Tails!"

"Let me go, Knuckles!"

"You can't pull him out! You'd be taken too!"

Nastasia grabbed her head and teleported to where she was needed next. Dimentio just laughed like it was a hilarious Saturday morning cartoon before he teleported in his own special way, leaving Tails' mind to bounce off the walls.

"This is complete madness! Something definitely wasn't right with those characters, and now Sonic and Amy are gone!" he cried. "I'm also afraid to say the same thing might be happening in other worlds…"

Knuckles folded his arms and raised an eyebrow at Tails. They were now alone in the altar. "So what's the plan, genius? This situation already appears to be too big for us to handle…we just randomly appeared on the scene and that definitely didn't help the cause."

Tails held up his yellow-orange watch. "We've gotta figure out where everyone is. These watches not only allow communication, but I'm able to pinpoint where everyone is!" Then, he frowned. "Unless, of course, something happened to destroy the watches or they're somewhere, like…the center of all dimensions? But what are the odds of that?"

Knuckles poked at his brick-red watch. "Not very high, I'm guessing."

"Let's go, Knuckles…again! Looks like it's up to US to save the day this time around!"

"We heading to your workshop?"

"Of course!"

Tails and Knuckles ran a few paced before jumping up and flying off. Little did they know, they were closer to being right than anyone else…but they certainly weren't the closest to destruction…

. . .

"Ooh…Ooooooh…What happened to me…what is this place?"

"Bleh heh heh heh heh…oh, you're awake, Princess!"

"…huh?"

In a similar way to Sonic, Peach opened her eyes to see that Bleck man by her side , she was in a wedding dress, and…BOWSER across form her! ?

"BOWSER!"

Bowser turned around and threw up his hands- all the minions that were sucked up started to cheer wildly.

"All hail!" "Hi Peach!" "Nice, Dude!"

"Wh-What's going on here!" Peach demanded to know. She didn't get an answer; instead, Nastasia decide to teleport into a wedding for the third time in a row.

"Oh, man…this is the most complicated plan ever…" she wheezed. Nastasia then regained her posture and adjusted her glasses. "Count! Yeah, um, K, so preparations are complete…"

"Mm…then it shall be begun…by Count Bleck!"

Wedding bells started chiming, and apparently Bleck was the one who was going to wed the two this time.

"Bowser…ferocious and fearsome, evil king of the koopas…Do you take Peach to be your lawfully wedded wife 'til your games be over?"

"Bwa ha ha! Will I marry Peach? Are you kidding me? The answer's YEEEESSSS!"

"Peach, noble princess, pure of heart…do you take Bowser to be your lawfully wedded husband 'til your games be over?"

Peach obviously had other thoughts. "Now, wait just a minute! You will explain to me what is going on…RIGHT NOW!"

Count Bleck just cracked up. "Bleh heh heh heh…Is it not obvious? This is your wedding, Princess!"

"But…why in this world am I marrying BOWSER! ?"

Bowser just grinned like an idiot and put up his hands. "Hey, no gripes from THIS side of the altar, Bleck old boy! I don't get the details, but the count here has gone through a lot of trouble planning this! Just relax! We'll get married, we'll be in love, it'll be awesome! Finally!"

"No! And who picked this dress out? It's AWFUL! Take me back to my castle immediately!"

She hardly had a chance to finish her sentence before Nastasia took control of her.

"Yeah, um, being rude to the esteemed count is sort of frowned upon, K? So, yeah, Princess Peach, I'm going to need you to answer the count now…I've gone through this twice today- you might wanna make it easy! Do you, Peach, take Bowser to be your wedded husband 'til your games be over?"

"Uhn…nuh…no…"

Nastasia narrowed her eyes. She was refusing too. However, she already knew she wouldn't be able to resist like Sonic could and decided to try again.

"Gee...you sure are a fighter. But yeah, no one withstands my super-hypnosis, sorry…"

_"Except blue hedgehogs that are full of themselves!"_ she hissed under her breath afterward. "I Do. Say it now, K?"

She zapped Peach again, and everything just about stopped when Peach fumbled, "Oooh…ooh…I…do…"

In the middle of the altar, dark magic was forming, and Bowser was dumbstruck. "WH-WHAT! ?"

While that was going on, Luigi, who had also been sucked in with the crowd, regained consciousness.

"What in the world…? Eh? What am I doing here?" he pondered before glancing up at the altar. "Huh? Is that…Princess Peach over here? And that guy is…HEY!"

Out of the darkness arose a dark heart, brimming with terrible magic. Bleck was plainly pleased and burst out into mad laughter. "Bleh heh heh heh! BLECK! Yes, all precisely as written in the Dark Prognosticus! Already it is unleashed! The Chaos Heart!"

"Oh yeah, um, congratulations Count…"

"HALT!"

Bowser, Bleck, and Nastasia froze, turning as Luigi sprung -more literal than intended- onto the scene.

"And just who are you?…asked Count Bleck."

"Oh, no! I don't give my name to scoundrels! Just watch as Luigi punishes you for your badness! HERE I GO!"

Nastasia held up her fists. After all she'd been through, nothing was stopping this plan now. "Yeah, I'm going to need you to stop right this second, K? If you interrupt this now…"

Luigi ignored Nastasia, jumped on Bowser, jumped on the Chaos Heart, and landed next to Peach.

"Here's where Luigi rescues Princess Peach!…eh?"

The Chaos Heart was simply going mad and glowing like crazy. In a flash, everything was gone…except Count Bleck, who reappeared next to his creation and Nastasia.

"Um, Yeah, so…are you all right, Count?" Nastasia asked.

"Fools…pointless acts like these will only earn you pain…from Count Bleck! Very well. As the Chaos heart is secured, these ragtag groups now lack use."

"Um, so, yeah, Count? This means you may turn to a new page of dark prophecies…"

Count disregarded Nastasia for the moment and spread his cape once more.

"Open your mouth, darkness! Consume everything and destroy all worlds as foretold in the prophecy! BLECK!"

The Void was officially born in the sky.

. . .

"La la la la…what a great day!" Kirby cheered, skipping through an unusually bright meadow- as if his world wasn't bright enough. "The only thing that could possibly make this day better is Bow! …but she's back in Mario's world. Sigh."

He then plopped himself on a small hill and reminisced about his girlfriend.

. .

_Kirby had gone back to Poshley Heights, after the apparent and official "split-up" of his friends. They weren't supposed to go to any worlds after that for a super-long time, as Kirby had processed._

_"Hmm…I might as well make my time last here!" he exclaimed to himself. "Maybe I'll get some of that pasta!"_

_Kirby had been so busy looking at the ground, he didn't notice he had bumped into someone. Glancing up, he started to apologize, until he realized who it really was. Apparently the person looking back at him was just as shocked._

_"Aiii! _BOW!"

_"_Kirby!"

_The green boo, who happened to be visiting Poshley Heights on vacation, quickly smothered Kirby in a hug. Bootler, Lady Bow's personal assistant and guard, gave a small smile._

_"Well, Master Kirby! Isn't this a pleasant surprise!"_

_"Hi Bootler!" Kirby called cheerfully. He then turned back to Bow. "Oh man, I'm SO glad I got to see you!"_

_"Well of course! It's me we're talking about…" Bow replied, chuckling behind her fan. Kirby just grinned and scratched the back of his head._

_"Well, ha ha, um, actually…you see…I've just finished another adventure, and it turns out we're all just going to stay in our home worlds for awhile…"_

_Bow gasped and Bootler's eyes widened._

_"You must be kidding, Kirby-"_

_"No. It was decided that we've been together too much and far from home too long, and I can't say that that's not true either…but at least I'll now be able to spend my remaining time with you!"_

_Bow smiled and hugged Kirby again. "That's excellent, dear. I've missed you so much…"_

_"Tell me about it! There were a whole bunch of other girls trying to get to me, but I told them all I was already taken!" He then smiled softly. "But, Vivian WAS pretty nice-"_

_"Who's this "Vivian"? !"_

_"Just a friend! I swear! Though she kissed me…"_

_"WHAT! ?"_

_"I wouldn't be talking! I heard you were smooching Meta Knight!"_

_"Where'd you hear THAT from? !"_

_"Meta Knight himself!"_

_"Well that was acting!"_

_"Well she was just being nice!"_

_"…wouldn't that make us even?"_

_"…yeah. You're right!"_

_Kirby then smirked. "So…you got to see Meta Knight without the mask, huh?"_

_Bow nodded. "He looks just like you, only-"_

_"Blue with yellow eyes. I know. I don't see why he still wears it after I cracked it so many times…"_

_They took each other's hands and started discussing their adventures while taking a walk through the Posh City. Kirby was happy-happier than usual- and had no trouble in telling Bow the action and danger he had been in, emphasizing (and exaggerating) it greatly. Bow just watched and giggled and gasped when necessary. Kirby was just too cute. They talked and laughed and had a good time until the sunset, and Meta Knight arrived._

_"Meta Knight; what're you doing here?" Kirby asked. "Shouldn't you have gone home already?"_

_"Yes. Shouldn't have you?" he replied. "Hello, Lady Bow."_

_"Hi, Meta Knight."_

_"Stop trying to pull a move on her!"_

_"For the last time, I'm not!"_

_"He just loves me that much," Bow chuckled._

_"Again, what're you doing?"_

_Meta Knight folded his arms. "I already knew you weren't home yet, and I came to find you, again. It's really time to go, Kirby…"_

_"Yes, my lady, it's looking like we might want to retire to the hotel quite soon also," added Bootler. Bow whirled around and snapped, "Whose side are you on! ?"_

_Kirby just sighed. "They…do have a point. I really can't stay any longer…"_

_Bow grabbed Kirby's hands. "It WAS really nice to see you…"_

_"I promise, when the chance come around again, you will be the first person I see!"_

_"Come ON, Kirby!"_

_"You can't rush love!"_

_Meta Knight rolled his eyes, yet still waited for Kirby. When he glanced over again, Kirby and Bow were busy kissing away. He smacked his head. As soon as they pulled away, Kirby summoned his Warp Star and jumped onto it._

_"I swear, next time I see you, it'll be for MUCH longer!"_

_Bow waved. "I know. You haven't broken your last promise, and I know you won't break this one!"_

_Kirby gave a nod before saying, "Bye!" and instantly taking off in the sunset. Meta Knight just stared at Bow, his true expression remaining unknown._

_"Kirby does nothing but talk about you, know." he stated. "Trust me, if he could stay longer, he most certainly would. But he's bound by another promise…"_

_Bow just nodded. "I know, I know…"_

_Meta Knight covered himself with his cape, then rapidly spun around until he was like a tornado to normal eyes. Bow took a second to blink; Meta Knight was gone too._

. .

Kirby now laid back, staring at the rainbow watch communicator Meta Knight had given him shortly afterwards. First, he wondered why he didn't get a pink one, and second, Meta Knight should've given BOW one. Life would be even peachier then.

"Oh well…life is life, I suppose."

He almost drifted off to sleep until a deep voice called out his name.

"Kirby! Kirby, run!"

"…huh?"

Meta Knight was flying at him full speed, and behind him was an odd darkness taking over everything. Kirby summoned his Warp Star and started flying just in time to be even with Meta Knight.

"Um, what's going on…"

"It's a world destruction portal. Also could be called a Void, if I'm correct."

Kirby fearfully looked around, his mind racing after the sudden change of pace in day. What was once the peaceful meadow was now innocent animals, plants, the ground, and even the very sky itself being consumed by the purple mass of destruction. It was almost as if the color of the world was being drained into the darkness…and Kirby didn't like it one bit.

"It's eating the entire world!"

Meta Knight looked down solemnly. "I know…we have to get out of here if we want any chance of survival."

"We have to teleport…"

Kirby lifted his hand. "Shouldn't we tell everyone else what's happening?"

"We will when we're safe. Now, we've gotta go!"

Kirby gave a nod and instantly started to shoot up into the sky. However, it wasn't so easy for Meta Knight to teleport. When he got into position, it meant he had to stop flying. And when he stopped flying…the black hole caught up with him.

And started to absorb him.

"ARGH!"

The knight struggled against the force of the Void, trying ever-so hard to escape its wrath. There was no way he could overtake the force overtaking HIM. Meta Knight stumbled onto the ground, clawing at what was left of it, but the Void came closer and closer, more of Popstar being destroyed by the second.

Kirby, still appalled from the sudden change of his day, cried out "META KNIGHT!" and reached for his friend's hand. He was too far away from Meta Knight and the Void to reach him though, and they both knew that if Kirby turned back, there would be no hope for Kirby. Kirby ignored this fact and began to turn around anyway.

"No, Kirby, you've got to go! Get out of here!"

"I won't! I'm coming back for you!"

"Just…get…somewhere…safe…" Meta Knight grunted out before the fatigue in his arm forced him to let go of the ground. He went screaming and spiraling into the vortex. Kirby's expression was indescribable.

"NO! META KNIGHT!"

Since Kirby was so focused on Meta Knight, he wasn't paying attention to where he warped too.

His current located couldn't be determined.

Yet.


	3. Divided and Confused

Super Paper Mario X

Chapter 2: Divided and Confused

_"…..ario….._Mario…"

Mario finally regained his senses and woke up. He was still in Bowser Castle, where everyone was gone…except a rainbow butterfly.

"Are you awake?" the butterfly asked. Well, he was standing, wasn't he?

Mario: Who are you?

"My name is Tippi…I am known as a Pixl…a sort of fairy…Mario…I came to find you…"

Mario took it as a challenge and struck a battle pose. Tippi didn't move.

"I am no enemy…you met Count Bleck…and he kidnapped a princess and an evil monster king…forced another princess and king to get married…and wed 'two true loves'…Is this not so?"

Mario wasn't sure about the latter part of the description, but it was certainly possible at that point. So he said yeah.

"Then that means Count Bleck is even now beginning to form The Void…We haven't much time…You must come with me…Yes, if all your friends are to be saved, you must come…"

Mario was then surrounded by a black box, just like how the others were forced to leave their worlds.

"Let us go…"

And just like that, Mario teleported.

. . . . .

"Knuckles! ? Knuckles, are you_ seeing_ this! ?"

"This is the third time you've told me to look at something or ask if I've seen something…"

"I'm serious!"

"So am I."

Tails pointed to the screen constantly, trying to get Knuckles' full attention onto it. Knuckles was staring at the screen, but he just wasn't understanding the severity of the situation.

"…okay. What am I seeing?"

Tails smacked his head. He flew up to be level with the top of the large screen and sighed. "All right, listen Knuckles, there are 13 small screens on the large one, right?"

"Yes. I can at least count."

"…good. The top row represents Team Mario, the second Team Z.A.P., and the last Team Luigi. If you go down the columns, it shows which world they each come from. Mario, Peach, and Luigi are Mushroom Kingdom, Link, Zelda, and Malon are Hyrule, Sonic, Amy, and me are from Mobius-you are too, but you didn't fit in the column and I paired you with Samus- and Kirby and Meta Knight are from Popstar. Understand, THAT! ?"

Knuckles nodded. Tails then pointed to the third screen from the left on the bottom row, and the last screen from the left in the bottom row. They were the only two that were working.

"You see those two screens? The first is me, the second is you. We're obviously fine and in our own world. Now, if you were somewhere else, that world's screen would fill yours instead. Get that?"

"Will you _quit_ asking that?"

"I'm trying to give it to you slowly. Now, notice how there's NO pictures of ANY worlds on the rest of the screens- they have nothing but a straight white line. That-"

"Yes I get that."

"…I wasn't going to ask! You told me to stop!"

"Continue, sorry…"

Tails just shook his head. "Anyway, by the "straight line" screen, we can tell that ten people are in-between dimensions right now. Which is a bad thing. One, we're all not supposed to be gone, two, Sonic and Amy are also in-between dimensions, three, everyone might be stuck there, and four, no one's communicators will work in-between dimension unless they're at close range, which defeats the purpose…"

"Can you fix them?"

"Of course! But, the thing is, we have to find them…"

Knuckles nodded seriously then looked back up at the screens. He pointed to the top rightmost one and asked, "Hey, wait…why's that one fuzzy?"

Tails placed a hand to his chin. "Huh, I don't- wait, who's screen is that! ?"

"If I understood what you told me correctly, then shouldn't that be Samus' screen?"

Tails gasped and randomly started hitting buttons, zooming in on Samus' screen. Seconds later, he was repeatedly yelping, "Oh no, oh no, oh _no_-"

"What happened to Samus! ?" Knuckles exclaimedm rushing over and hovering over his shoulder. Tails gulped and scratched his head.

"I'm not really sure how to go about it…remember how since no one would be able to go to Samus' world to give her a watch I instead synchronized them all to her Power Suit?"

"Yes, actually."

"…something happened to her Power Suit. To like, destroy it, you know…"

Knuckles' eyes widened. "Wh-What do we do now?"

Tails rapidly typed away. "I'm trying to get the coordinates of where our team ended up-so we can at least teleport there and help them. There's no way we can locate Samus now, but maybe we'll be able to work up to her if we've got more people, okay?"

Knuckles was silent for a long time before nodding and saying, "All right. Where're we going?"

Tails hit one last button before smirking and saying, "I got it! The coordinates for the center of dimensions! You ready Knuckles- if we go, we might not come back…"

Knuckles shrugged. "Well, everyone else is there, so why not?"

"All right then. Here we go…"

"In the words of Sonic…"

Knuckles pulled out the Master Emerald and chanted for it to teleport him while Tails sat in a sitting position in the air while using his tails to spin him around. At the same time, Tails and Knuckles had teleported.

And at the same time, their screens had vanished.

. . . .

"It's so odd for a black hole to just…appear…" Samus remarked to herself, cruising Outer Space in her starship. Right in front of her was the Void, but to her it was just thought of as a black hole. She was assigned to go investigate it. She didn't get all that far when a small area in front of her was briefly distorted. From the distortion appeared Dimentio.

"I wouldn't go near that, if I were you…" he sang. Samus narrowed her eyes and growled, "Why not?"

"Because its already going to swallow your world whole- don't rush the process for you!"

"Black Holes don't swallow worlds whole…" she protested.

"It's not a black hole, silly woman. It's a Void. Of pure destruction. And it will consume everything."

Samus jumped out and on the top of her starship and aimed her cannon at Dimentio. "You've got three seconds to leave before I blow you up."

"The feeling is mutual."

Dimentio snapped his fingers, and Samus' Starship started sparking like crazy, like it was on fire or something. Samus gasped and jumped off, now floating aimlessly in space. Dimentio gave a cheeky smile and said, "That could've been you."

"Yeah, and THIS is going to be YOU!"

Dimentio shrugged before Samus attacked. "I'm just here to stop you from messing with The Void. Simple as that. I plan to succeed in that."

Samus let out a battle cry and unleashed her most deadly weapon- her Zero Laser. It had been long enough, and she finally managed to control it at will. Dimentio just yawned and caused a shield to form in front of him. The laser completely avoided him. Samus told herself and everyone else several times that if she used her Zero Laser too long, her Suit wouldn't be able to handle it. Metroid anger was getting the best of her, and she was obviously frustrated that she couldn't hit Dimentio.

"Your shield…won't hold out forever!"

"Neither will your Suit, if I'm correct."

"Grrr…you're going down before I do!"

"I beg to differ."

Within a matter of moments, Samus's Power Suit was starting to glow blue where the pieces connected. She tried to stop the laser now, but it was apparently stuck. Samus felt her heart stop and her eyes widen as she banged on her cannon with her other hand.

"Stop! STOP!"

Too late. Her suit stopped functioning, and now she was rising. The Zero Laser died down on its own, now that it had no more power to draw from, and Dimentio took down his shield to watch the spectacle. Samus was now engulfed with a blue light, and seconds later, her suit blew up and scattered into all directions.

"ARGH!"

Dimentio watched with interest, avoiding a leg piece and one of the massive shoulder pads. Samus' helmet even flew off, snagging her hair tie and snapping it. Her long blond hair now drifted down to her shoulders, and Zero Suit Samus was gasping for air.

"Well! Since you gave me such a spectacular show, I'll spare you by sending you somewhere with air! You'll live…until Outer Space IS consumed."

Dimentio waved his hand, and Samus was suddenly spiraling down to a planet she'd never seen before. She pulled out her only back-up weapon, a meager stunning-pistol, and shot it at Dimentio before he got too far out of range. It missed him completely.

"You should know better than to mess with the Master of Dimensions!"

Samus continued to watch him as he teleported, her kept fallling at a dangerous rate, barely hearing him whisper, "_I'm the reason you can even teleport…"_

. . .

Mario reappeared on a white tower of some sort, amazed by the minor fact that he teleported! Sure, it wasn't him doing it, but it was still cool! He looked around curiously until an old man with a huge mustache walked up. Mario could already tell this would be a "Merlon" and he would definitely rant a lot. He met so many Merlons in his life, he had a feeling they were just all the same.

"Oh ho ho ho…Back so soon, Tippi?" he chuckled. "And who might this be? Red shirt. Blue overalls…and a magnificent 'stache! Tippi, you have truly outdone yourself."

"He matches the lead hero in the Light Prognosticus perfectly…and his name is Mario…"

Mario:…me?

"I welcome you Mario! This is the town of Flipside! You have come far from the Mushroom Kingdom of your dimension…of course, our fair Flipside is in no dimension at all! No! It is BETWEEN dimensions!"

Mario: What's your name?

"MERLON!"

Mario: *smirks* knew it.

"I am a descendent of the ancient who created this town. I busy myself studying musty ancient texts to forestall the end of all worlds!"

Mario: End of all worlds! ?

"So Tippi has not yet told you, I gather…Well then, Mario…the answer hangs above you."

In the supposed sky, there was similar purple portal to what knocked out Mario, what took Sonic and Amy away, what took Bowser, Peach, and Luigi away, and what was sucking up Kirby and Samus'-and probably all- worlds.

"Do you see the gathering darkness in the sky? It is a hole in the very dimensional fabric of space! Such a strange phenomenon…is it near or far? None know. It may appear small now, but it will only grow. And in the end, it'll swallow all existence…all worlds, all dimensions…This Void was created by our enemy, Count Bleck, who wields the Dark Prognosticus."

"Two fair and noble princesses…two furious monster kings…and a girl and her true love… the union of these six will call forth the Chaos Heart, the consumer of worlds…and then the Chaos Heart with ravage the sky, and so bring forth the Void… " recited Tippi.

"Yes…the passage Tippi just quoted was from the Light Prognosticus of my ancestors. The book also says this: The Void will swallow all…naught can stop it, unless the one protected by the dark power is destroyed. The heroes with the power of the eight Pure Hearts will rise to this task."…so it is written."

Merlon suddenly lifted his mustache, as if they were arms or something, and a really bright red heart magically appeared out of thin air. Mario just watched in awe.

"This is one of the eight Pure Hearts. You are surely the hero spoken of in the pages of the Light Prognosticus. You are the only one who can defeat Count Bleck and save all worlds! Mario! Take this and save all worlds from destruction!"

Mario: I will!

"Excellent! You truly are the hero of the book of legend! My eyes never deceive! So! …ahem…Mario, our brave hero! Take…THIS!"

Mario gave him points for at least trying to be dramatic. The Pure Heart floated over to Mario, and he held it up proudly…well, it was more along the lines of "thrust into his possession", but oh well.

"Now, great hero Mario…your first task awaits. You must take this Pure Heart…You must place it in the Heart Pillar of this town. Tippi will lead you there. Return to me when you are through with this task!"

Tippi tried to lead him to the left where an elevator was, but Mario ended up jumping off the edge instead and landing on the first floor of Flipside- conveniently right in front of the Heart Pillar.

"I meant to take the elevator, but this works too…" Tippi trailed.

Mario: You could've told me earlier!

"Sigh, oh well…just place the Pure Heart into the Heart Pillar, if you will…"

Mario nodded and stepped closer to the tall, rectangle pillar with the heart imprint on the font. All Mario had to do was merely touch it, and it suddenly emitted invisible waves of magic force. The Pure Heart then floated out of Mario's pocket and placed itself into the Heart Slot. Like a key in a lock, he Pure Heart opened a way to the world where the next Pure Heart was: a red door at the top of Flipside.

"Well done…now, let's return to Merlon…"

Mario nodded and did as he was told. Unfortunately, he could just jump back up to where he came from, so he took the elevator route to get back to the top. Once he and Tippi returned, Merlon rushed up to them, as Mario expected.

"Ah, the two of you return!" he exclaimed excitedly. "Look! A door has appeared! This "dimensional door" was made to lead the hero to another Pure Heart. Yes, somewhere beyond this door lies one of the seven other Pure Hearts. …Tippi. You must use your power to help Mario find this Pure Heart and return here."

"Of course…"

"And Mario…I have something to give you that will aid you on your journey." A candy cane colored pipe was given to Mario. "With this, you'll be able to return to Flipside from anywhere in the universe! Use it whenever you feel you must return in a hurry. The Light Prognosticus foretells that the hero will meet a "dimensional governor". And from him, the hero will learn the dimensional technique…"

Mario's eyes lit up. Was that like teleporting! ?

"I am almost certain that this refers to my friend, the Flip Wizard, Bestovius. So go now through this door, and seek out Bestovius!"

Mario: Oh Yeah!

"Well, let's get going…"

Mario trotted into front of the door, and entered after it magically opened for him.

. . .

In Count Bleck's central HQ, which was really just a few stable boxes floating in darkness, Count Bleck, Nastasia, Dimentio, and a fourth currently unknown character were discussing the progress of their plans.

"BLEH HEH HEH HEH! BLECK! The Void has been ripped in dimensional fabric! Yes, Count Bleck is pleased. All has gone as foretold in the Dark Prognosticus. Now it's just a matter of time until all worlds meet their demise! Bleck!"

"Wow! That's just super, Count! Yeah, first you'll erase all these naughty worlds…and then you're gonna build a perfect world without war and all that other icky stuff!" exclaimed the fourth person, who sounded a lot like a girl.

"Yes, yes, no one likes the icky stuff…Yess…A perfect world…sounds magical…" mused Dimentio. "Ah ha ha. I can hardly stand the wait."

"SORRY I'M LATE!" boomed a Scottish voice. The owner of the voice came crashing down, only to reveal he looked the exact same as the fourth member of the conversation. "What in blazin' bog rats…how'd I beat myself 'ere? What's goin' on?"

"Mimimimimimimimimimimi! Oh, O'Chunks you big silly! Didja oversleep or something?" the one who looked like O'Chunks suddenly turned into the Count. "I guess it's kinda hard to be on time though, when you've got muscles instead of brains!"

O'Chunks angrily had a fit. "'EY! Yeh can't fool me with that shape-shiftin' hooliganry! It's Mimi, innit? Show a little respect for the count! Yeh can't go a'borrowin' 'is face, lass!"

Count Bleck just chuckled. "Bleh heh heh heh heh…How delightful, Mimi. Almost as dapper…as Count Bleck."

Mimi giggled before turning into Peach. "Aw, golly, thanks Count! With you around, it's nothing but big smiles all the time! Hanging out with the count! That's MY idea of a perfect world!"

Dimentio smirked. "And here I thought Mimi's ideal world was a gem-filled pool with hunky lifeguards…"

Mimi transformed into Bowser out of anger and growled at Dimentio, "Hey! Dimentio! Have you been reading my diary! I mean…umm…never mind…"

"Bleh heh heh heh…well, different strokes for different minions…After these rotten worlds are ended, Count Bleck will make all your dreams come true! But for that to happen…we must follow the instructions of the Dark Prognosticus."

Nastasia gulped and adjusted her glasses. "Yeah, about that, just an FYI. I've got an urgent memo for your inbox…apparently there's been some unapproved one-dimensional activity lately. Yeah…I'm thinking it's the heroes of the prophecy. We're going to need an action plan for these guys…"

"Dimensional interlopers! And possibly the heroes! Are you sure of it, Nastasia?" Nastasia gave a light nod. Part of the traveling had been her fault-and Dimentio's- but there were two certain cases that were highly meant to be looked into. "Interesting, mused Count Bleck. We must put an end to this nuisance…"

"COUNT BLECK!" shouted O'Chunks. "Lemme get this right in me brain…The 'eroes Nastasia's goin' on about…they yer enemy? Then yeh gotta cut me loose on 'em! Yeh gotta! I'll give 'em a nice taste o' O'Chunks!"

"Very well O'Chunks. I'll leave the hero-chunking to you. Do not fail Count Bleck."

"Yeh can count on me, Count! I'll rain down like a fat thunderstorm! I swear it! Mimi! Dimentio! Yeh should tag along! Yeh could witness a proper chunking!"

O'Chunks jumped off his square, which was one of his ways to teleport- he had two, as a matter of fact. Dimentio gave a thoughtful look and turned away.

"Hmm…I do enjoy a good chunking…Well, then…I believe I'll head out as well."

Without another word, Dimentio magically teleported off. Count Bleck just chortled once more.

"Bleh heh heh heh! So, heroes…You would defy Count Bleck? Then hurry, for your worlds' end draws near…BLEH HEH HEH HEH! BLECK!"

. . .

Mario was called upon once again to save the world…no small task. Could he prevent Count Bleck from pulling off his sinister plot? Would Mario be reunited with Princess Peach, or even his other friends, perhaps? A truly inter-dimensional adventure was about to begin…

* * *

**Alright, let's sum up this chapter- Mario's in the center of dimensions and has teamed up with a rainbow butterfly, Tails and Knuckles are pretty much the only ones who know what's going on (at least more than any one else) , Samus has learned to control the Zero Laser at will (and ultimately exploded with an interesting encounter with Dimentio), and the Count Bleck crew are as crazy and lively as ever. Next time, Mario must venture out in a whole new dimension, facing its dangers -and simplicity- all by himself...**

**And on a side note, I am still in total shock at how well-received this story has been. A long, long while ago, I wasn't even going to do this story since I was afraid it wouldn't really fit in with the previous stories. But now I'm glad I did. ^^ However, we're still early in the beginning, so we'll see what happens. **


	4. The Adventure Unfolds

Super Paper Mario X

Chapter 3: The Adventure Unfolds

Mario walked out of the red door into a world completely made up of lines and pure color. The sky was a pastel blue, all the greenery was really green, with little hints of yellow, purple, and the such among them. It almost reminded him of the Mushroom Kingdom, if only everything in this "Line Land" had eyes.

"I feel the Pure Heart. But it is still far from here…" Tippi stated. "Merlon told us to find Bestovius, to learn that dimensional technique. We'd better go find him…"

Mario: Yeah!

"One more thing…if you want to learn about anything, just use my power…I know about many things…"

Mario gave her a nod and headed off. She told him all about how place really was called Line Land, and explaining that they were currently on Line Land Road, leading all the way to Bestovius. Mario smirked to himself and said that they should call it "Line Lane"…only to remind himself of Link.

He frowned- he was actually going on an adventure without any of his friends, and being stuck in this alternate world/dimension/whatever probably meant he wouldn't get any partners either. Tippi was okay, but she seemed so…distant. Mario didn't know why.

Oh well- he sucked it up and carried on. A Goomba trotted along the road, just in front of a ? block; Mario glad that at least there was some familiar objects around. He took out the Goomba and jumped under the block, receiving a coin in return. Another block was hit, this one popping out a Mushroom. It started gliding away like old times, and Mario knew he either was going to grow bigger, or collect the Mushroom as an item and store it for later. It fell, hit a pipe, and moved right into Mario's reach. He collected it…and instantly regained HP (that he didn't need).

Mario:…what?

He was excepting to pick it up, but instead it just sapped into his HP! When he was at full health too! That never happened…

"You look frazzled, Mario. All you did was collect a Mushroom!" Tippi pointed out. Mario wasn't about to go into the elaborate explanation of how Mushrooms usually did _not_ instantly replenish his HP, but it was only a minor thing and there was no point in making a big deal out of it. He defeated more Goombas, then came to brown blocks completely surrounding a door. He poked them, despite the fact he already knew he could get by them. So instead, he jumped on a gold block, jumped on top, and went over. Simple.

"OINK!"

Mario's head turned- some pink pig was charging for him! He jumped on it, thinking it was just as defenseless as a Goomba, but surprisingly it was not. Stunned, Mario unintentionally did a flip in the air, and felt as if he had gotten experience. Now curious, he hit the pig again and flipped once more, and what did you know? Experience points!

"Too bad they're not Star Points…" Mario sighed as the pig disappeared in smoke. Those allowed Mario and his gang to level up in the Mushroom Kingdom, but these "experience points"…did they level him up too? There was only one way to find out…after he found more enemies.

Just beyond where he defeated the pig, a house sat on a square hill. Mario and Tippi exchanged looks, but decided it might've been Bestovius' house and entered anyway.

Mario: Hello…?

The house was completely empty! He turned to Tippi, who was already mulling over the problem.

"This is not an empty house…" she trailed. "There's something in this room. I can feel it…"

Really? Mario sure was fooled then.

"I can help you find hidden things. Why don't you use my power to look around! All you have to do is point to the area of interest!"

Mario gave a quizzical look, then pointed to the wall. Suddenly, Tippi dispersed into several little triangles, all revolving around the area Mario pointed at. Moving his finger around, Mario located an invisible door.

"There's a hidden door here…let me make it visible for you…"

Tippi magically made the door appear, Mario almost thinking it was an illusion. It was proven, however, when he actually did open the door and find some kind of "cloud wizard" man in the hidden room.

"Hmmmmmmm?" questioned the man. "What is this meager mustache that stands before me? And how does it have the audacity to address my multicolored glory?…how did these flimsy whiskers detect my secret door…"

Mario did a double-take. This poofy man was insulting his 'stache! The nerve! Before he could make a move of any sort, the man intervened.

"Wait right there…Red shirt…conspicuous white gloves…jaunty cap…Hah! You are garbed in the rich cloth of the Hero of the Prophecy! You must be the great…HERO…impersonator!"

Mario dramatically fell forward onto his face.

"What a costume! You look like you leaped out of the pages of the Prognosticus!"

Mario: No no.

"This is Mario!" Tippi explained. "He's dressed like this because he IS the hero…Merlon told us to find you."

"Merlon? ! Only his full-bodied beard rivals my hairy magnificence…"

Mario: And MINE doesn't?

"If Merlon thinks you are the hero, then you probably are…I think… Well, then. As the ancient prophecy foretells…I, Bestovius, will bestow upon you the ancient secrets of dimensional flipping."

Mario: You can teach me to teleport! ?

"Not necessarily "teleporting", as in go from one world to another, but something similar…" Bestovius explained. "You see, every world has two dimensions- 2D and 3D. One is superior, while the other can only be accessed by those who are phenomenal at teleporting. For you, great Hero, can be taught so you too can access both dimensions…for a nominal fee of 10,000 coins!"

Mario's jaw dropped as Tippi squeaked over his shoulder. "But that's preposterous! You can't charge to teach the hero of the prophecy!"

"Why not? Even the great splendiferous Bestovius has certain…expenditures. Why should the hero get the world delivered to him on a well-garnished platter? These heroes think they can get away with shaking people down for free skills! A mere 10,000 coins should be_ nothing_ for a hero of the universe!"

Mario: I'm only a plumber! I don't make that much!

"What do you say?"

Mario: No!

"I should have expected such cheapskate from a hero with a scrimpish mustache! Now that I know you are trying to cheat me out of my due tribute…I will settle for just taking all of the coins in your pocket."

Mario didn't want to pay this guy _any_ coins after he insulted Mario's amazing mustache, but he really didn't have that many coins and he was wasting time if he wanted to dumb the price down the free. So he chucked his measly three coins at Bestovius and awaited to learn the technique.

"Let us begin!" Bestovius floated closer to Mario and began to chant some magic words. "Flimmiddy flammiddy floooom! Diggidy daggidy doooom! Zibbity Zabbity zoooom! SHABOOM! FLIPPOW!"

Mario felt a rush of power wash over him as the ancient technique was transferred over to him.

"I, Bestovius, have transferred to you the ability to flip between dimensions! Um…I would say "Press A" to make yourself slip between the very fabric of time and space and flip between 2D and 3D, but there's no A to push…so just jump up, throw you arms in the air, and think about the alternate dimension."

Mario: What is this "A" you speak of?"

"I assure you that if we are being watched from another dimension…those beings will understand. But you lack the mustache for full comprehension. Just remember you can use this ability to find hidden items and secret paths. But beware: use you new ability too long, and you will lose HP."

Mario made a face. The closest thing he got to teleporting…and if he overused it, he'd lose HP. What a rip off! But nevertheless, he tried out the move inside the house. He jumped, threw his arms up, closed his eyes, and suddenly felt himself be flipped around. When he opened his eyes, the entire room was…3D! Bestovius was gone, only because he was trapped in the second dimension. It almost made Mario think about the 1st and 4th dimensions…and the 8th and 9th, but that was beyond him. For the time being, he scooped up a Shell Shock and…canned Shroom? No, with a closer look he realized it was a Shroom Shake, which was the obtainable version of a Mushroom in this world. He slipped it into his pocket, then flipped himself back into 2D.

Mario: Sweet.

"Good to see you're getting the hang of it!" Bestovius chuckled. "Oh, by the way…if you keep going up Line Land Road, you'll end up reaching a mountain. I've been hearing that there's some hooligan going on a rampage there, if you'll please check that out…"

Mario gave a nod, then waved good-bye.

Outside of Bestovius' house, Mario flipped again, finding three ? Boxes that no one probably even would have seen before. He hit them all, received some Pal Pills (mini Mario's that were going to take damage for him) then returned. Flipping was turning out to be pretty interesting! Tippi then told him of how there was something on Bestovius' roof, and after climbing up to get it, he received a card with that pink pig on it- apparently it was called a Squiglet.

"Enemy cards increase the damage you do to them…" Tippi explained. "Try to collect them all!"

Mario shrugged, then headed back toward the door with the surrounding brown blocks. Before he reached it, though, he noticed a green pipe and went down it. Surprisingly it led somewhere. Inside, all there was… was another Shroom Shake. Mario thought it to be of use later on, and also stashed it away.

Now with nothing else to get in his way, Mario made it to the brown blocks and flipped into 3D. The blocks on top , in 3D, were revealed not to be next to each other, or even connected to the side blocks! There were spaced going outwards, and didn't even touch another. Mario found it interesting, then jumped, raised his arms, and flipped back into 2D. The door was now accessible.

As soon as he entered the next area, green Koopa Troopas and a Goomba were pacing along, minding their own business. Mario ran over, jumped on the nearest Koopa, did a flip, then came back down and kicked its shell into the rest of the enemies. He still had it.

Flipping into 3D, considering that path ahead contained an over-sized pipe that Luigi would be able to jump over with ease, Mario found a hidden path in the 3rd Dimension…along with a Goomba card! This made it even easier to take out the Goombas ahead, despite their already pitiful HP. Mario located some more ? Blocks, but a certain block contained an item he'd never seen before.

"This is a Happy Flower…" Tippi explained, catching onto Mario's confusion. "For a little while, flowers with coins will rain down…"

As if on cue, flowers with coins started to rain down. Mario whistled- it was raining money! He ran back and forth, trying to collect as much loot as possible, his eyes enlarging when he saw a jumbo coin tumbling out of the sky.

"That one's worth 10, which is better than a normal coin, I suppose…"

Mario dove over to grab it anyway. When he stood back up, the coin shower was over…and Mario was at a dead end.

"Don't forget to flip into 3D…you may find something…"

Mario swapped himself into 3D, and like Tippi said, he found something- a hill in the background in 2D was an obvious path in 3D. Mario wondered what other things he was missing out on when he was limited to only 2D. The possibilities…

Now on the other side of the brief gap in the land, Mario jumped on another Squiglet, but found another- however, this one was purple. No big deal, right?

…Until it started spitting out something that was some sort of cross between a hairball and a coconut. It hit Mario with unexpectedly great force in the stomach, knocking the wind right out of him. Scowling, Mario sprung off one foot and jumped onto the purple pig, expecting it to be defeated, but it was plainly stronger than a regular Squiglet. He did a flip, making a Stylish move, then jumped on the pig two more times before it was finally felled. Mario stared somewhat hesitantly at the next door before entering it.

Everything was calm for a split moment- until a Sproing bounced into view. Mario struck it, but then it divided into three! Not bothering to waste his time with such an enemy, the plumber hero jumped onto a spring of his own and bounded over a…well, what he would call a "square hill". However, the next "square hill" did not have a conveniently placed spring, and so following the wise words of Tippi, Mario flipped.

And found a massive herd of Squiglets.

Mario: Mama Mia!

"How interesting…" mused Tippi. Mario gave his companion an odd look before letting out some sort of battle cry and going on a hopping frenzy. He was a red and blue blur, bounding from Squiglet to Squiglet as if they were stepping stones. Tippi watched, incredibly impressed, seeing the moves that Mario apparently possessed. After defeating every Squiglet and a boatload of stylish flips and tricks, Mario had leveled twice, boosting his HP by 5 and his attack by 1. He landed on the ground, gave Tippi a thumbs up, and continued on.

Through yet another door (after jumping onto brown blocks that reminded him of the end of World 1-1 back home) Mario could already tell he was on the final stretch of this particular part of the foreign world. He smiled lightly at the thought- he was actually in another world! The bad thing was, it wasn't for leisure. He was forced into it and he had to save it. Not to mention Peach, Luigi, and Bowser were out there somewhere too…

"Mario? You're spacing out…" Tippi trailed, snapping Mario out of his wandering thoughts. "Something the matter?"

Mario shook his head, then hit another ? Block to get back to focusing on his adventure.

He had to smile, however, when he saw that a Mega Star popped out of it. He at least knew what THAT was! He grew about 50 times his normal size into a pixilated version of himself.

Then he went on a rampage through enemies, brick-blocks, and the occasional pipe. Tippi was once again in awe at the power the hero of the prophecy demonstrated.

_"He acts as if this is so…normal for him. He must have a ton of adventuring experience under his belt…"_

That certainly was the truth, as far as Tippi knew. However, the power of the Mega Star Mario currently possessed was only temporary, and Mario literally poofed back to normal… and hit a dead end.

Mario: ?

"We are at the end…" Tippi trailed, before floating over to a rainbow box with a Star in the middle. "This will help us continue…"

Mario ignored Tippi for a brief moment and entered 3D. The once dead end revealed a hidden path, and once Mario hurried his way through, he found a chest containing a Koopa Troopa card. Satisfied, and not really sure what made him think of doing that in the first place, Mario returned back to the Star Block and gave it a whack.

. . .

And so Mario came to learn the stupendous ability of flipping between dimensions. But there was no time to celebrate: Mario still had a Pure Heart to find. The trail ahead was overrun with savage beasts.

"Follow me," Tippi said, as she flew toward the mountain that loomed ahead. The Pure Heart was hidden somewhere on the other side.


	5. Afoot in the Foothills

Super Paper Mario X

Chapter 4: Afoot in the Foothills

"I feel that the Pure Heart is beyond this mountain…" Tippi informed, once she and Mario had reached the foothills just beyond Lineland Road. "…but it's still far, far away. Something tells me that you'll need to put that new skill of yours to use."

Mario nodded and was off again. It was weird, being on an adventure alone. He was so used to having _some_ sort of companion…well, there _was_ Tippi, but she didn't seem all that animated. Nice, but there certainly was something odd about her. Beyond that…well, it was almost like Mario had the weight of all the worlds on his shoulders, alone.

Mario sighed- previous experience also told him not to dwell on the negatives. He claimed a Mushroom that instantly replenished his HP (once again making him panic from the unusualness) then beat up a Koopa and kicked its shell. With luck, it made contact with a Parakoopa bouncing along the ground. Its shell landed right in front of a cliff, which Mario stared to climb up. At the top was another new element, in Mario's opinion- a red square, and several moving rectangles. Finding this highly peculiar, Mario walked over and reached out to the red square, only to get swept up by a rectangle!

It was an odd experience, to say in the least. The rectangles were doing the moving for him, and brought him to a higher part of Mt. Rugged…then fell. While Mario dusted himself off, Tippi floated eagerly ahead.

"Oh, look, a switch…"

Mario could hardly see the switch, but once he teleported into 3D, it was as plain as day. He gave it a kick, and another climbable cliff materialized in the 2D background. Blue switches- they could make anything happen!

"This place has a few similarities to your world, doesn't it?" Tippi asked as Mario began to climb the newly available cliff. He nodded in agreement, despite the fact that instant-Mushrooms, enemies that didn't take turns, and no Star Points were highly farfetched from being counted as "similar to his world".

"The worlds are closer than you think…"

Mario gave a small shrug- he had heard that several times before.

. . .

Beyond a red and rainbow door, which Mario was beginning to realize would become quite plentiful, was one of the steeper, and more rugged parts of the mountain. Since there was no way he could jump a wall that was seven feet taller than him, Mario flipped into 3-D to see what he could find. A set of ? Blocks that were invisible in 2-D now became apparent in 3-D. He used them to climb up onto the previously unreachable ledge.

Mario sighed.

"What's wrong, Mario?" Tippi asked, genuinely curious. Mario shrugged again. Something was definitely missing from his current adventure, but he couldn't decide what.

"You're not in your world, you know…" Tippi trailed, as if she could read his mind. "Things are different everywhere…what you may be used to will probably be something way different than what a hero in another world is used to!"

Mario winced- it was as if this was all purposely making him think of his other world friends. He knew very well what their adventures were like- Sonic's were fast, racing through a zone, snagging an emerald, and heading to the next one. Not quite Mario's -or even Samus', as he recalled- cup of tea, but Sonic enjoyed it all the same. Kirby's journeys were usually more slow paced and simple, something that the adventure-craving Link could never contend with- he enjoyed more challenging and puzzling things.

Mario smiled as he entered the 3-D once again, jumped up onto and set of ? Blocks, then onto an originally impossible to reach ledge before swapping back. The good thing about traveling in his world was that there was something for everyone to enjoy.

Of course, as Tippi kept feeling the need to point out, they were most certainly not in his world. Only a few things were similiar...

Mario jumped onto a red Koopa Troopa, doing a stylish flip before giving its shell a kick. It knocked out an upcoming Paratroopa, but missed another. Snapping his fingers in annoyance, Mario took a risky jump at the Paratroopa, hoping to land on its head and not slam into it. Naturally one jump only removed its wings, but that was all Mario needed. He pushing off the turtle's head, went springing forward, and continued on.

"Watch out Mario!"

Mario was taken aback by Tippi's sudden outburst, and almost missed the giant, round, Spiny Tromp rolling down the mountain right at him! He took a split second to analyze his surroundings- a ledge was just in front of him that he could use to get out of the way, but it was too far away!

"Yah!"

He hoped for the best as Mario flipped into 3-D, knowing he had **just** missed getting ran over by the obstacle in 2-D. Once he was in the other dimension, he learned that he was actually able to walk around them! Knowing his time in the third dimension was very short, Mario made a mad dash up the mountain, veering to the left and right to avoid the rocks falling from the sky and rolling down.

Mario: ?

At the last second he swapped back to 2-D right before his time ran out, succeeding in taking no harm. Tippi smiled in approval as Mario confidently strolled through the next red-rainbow door.

"Hey! There's a house in the distance!"

Sure enough, a small house sat in the background, puffing wisps of smoke out of its chimney. It certainly did look cozy! Mario smiled and had plans to simply pass it by…

…but there was a giant chasm ahead and the only way to go was down a pipe.

"That's certainly odd…" Tippi pondered as Mario leaned over the edge. Yep, that went down quite a ways and there was no jumping across. Pipe it was.

**Down the pipe and in the house-**

"Whoever lives here sure must like red…" Tippi observed as the duo entered the small abode. The first floor was mainly the entry way, then there was the stairs that took up half the house, and second floor which held a bed and a large red switch. Mario climbed up the stairs to see if there was anyone in the tiny house, but when he reached the second floor, there was still no one.

"I wouldn't leave so quick…" Tippi told Mario. "I'm still picking up a third presence, but even with my powers I can find no one!"

Mario thought for a few seconds, then decided his new flipping ability would come in handy here too. Entering the third dimension, Mario and Tippi found a guy dressed in red, sitting on his bed, sweat dripping from his head.

Mario: Hi!

"Hey! HEY! You can see me!" he cried ecstatically.

Mario: Yeah!

"This is unbelievable! I've been freaking out here for days, and finally someone sees me! A couple mornings ago, I roll out of the wrong side of the bed…and once I get my coffee, I realize I'm stuck in some freaky parallel dimension! I've been hollering and flailing for days, but no one could hear me…or even see me. Just when I was starting to think I'd be here forever, I see you! You just blipped in her out of thin air! I was thinking, if you do that, maybe I could hitch a ride back?"

Mario, even though he was still trying to process the entire 'tragic' event, agreed instantly.

"You just stand next to me and flip, and I'll hold on!"

Mario nodded, then threw up his hands and teleported back in to 2-D, the guy hanging on and being too terrified to let go. It wasn't until Mario had started staring at the guy weirdly that he realized it was fine. He started jumping happily on his bed while Mario hopped to the floor to get out of the way.

"WHUH! We did it! I'm back to normal! Listen, you really bailed me out there. That 3-D business was really freaking me out! The name's Red. Nice to meet you!" Red, as he was apparently named, exclaimed. "Say, uh…any way I can repay you?"

Mario nodded as Tippi began to explain. "Actually, there is one thing…there's a huge chasm outside that we need to cross."

"So you want the cross the chasm, huh? Well, you found yourself the right guy! But hey. I've got to warn you. You know this place is called Impasse Pass right? I'm only allowed to let a choice few cross the bridge. It's in my job description. I mean, that's why they pay me to stand here! You sure you want to pass?"

Mario: Yeah!

"Yeah…you did save me from being trapped in a parallel dimension and all… OK! I'm going to ask you a question. Get the right answer and I'll let you pass."

Mario slightly frowned- who knew what mind-boggling, brain twisting question this guy could come up with? What if he did even know the answer? What if he didn't even know what the heck the question meant? What if-

"What's the most manly color in the entire universe? Red or green?"

Mario: -.-* …Red?

"You are SO right! I knew it! You and me, we see eye to eye on fashion. Hold on a sec. I'll throw the bridge down."

Red leaped off his bed and toward the red switch located conveniently right next to it. Upon throwing it, Mario and Tippi glanced out the widow to see a small wooden bridge build itself onto the chasm.

"All right, you should be good to go. You take it easy!"

"Thank you!" called Tippi as Mario waved and headed back out the door. Once the duo traveled back through the pipe, returned outside, and crossed the bridge…they found a quaint little town filled with a small amount of people.

"…wow. Huh, I wonder if anyone in this village knows anything…" Tippi pondered. Mario started asking around- a man in a tall cow boyish hat informed him that when in doubt, flip, and a woman in a yellow dress hinted that what seemed innocent in 2-D possibly held a secret in 3-D. A set of brown blocks were placed behind her, and Mario had a strange feeling there was more to it. Throwing up his hands, Mario swapped into the third-dimension and located a pipe behind the blocks.

. . .

Mario was beginning to realize that only have Tippi for company was very odd, because when things got too quiet or awkward, she would pipe up.

"Look Mario! There's a load of coins in this room!"

Mario gave a meek nod, swapped to 3-D, collected hidden coins, then returned back. He may have been richer, but there was still that empty feeling nagging him…

_"Anyway, better get serious…"_ Mario thought to himself as he exited the pipe. Asking a few more people around town, Mario eventually got directions for where the mayor's house was- the westernmost house in the tiny town. Thanking everyone, Mario headed toward said house and opened the door to get the shock of his life.

There, debating with some old man, was none other than his adventurous best friend Link.

"For the last time sonny, Watch it!"

"I'm not going to watch it!" Link snapped back, obviously ticked about something. "Not only have I been recently and violently heartbroken, the worlds are being sucked up into a Void of all things and I'm stuck in a completely new world!"

"Well-

"What's worse is that I tried to take a Mushroom from a ? block and it instantly sapped into my HP! What kind of a world is this? ! And I bought a Shroom Shake- **_nasty!_** I could go on, man…just please let me cross the chasm so I can find a way to get out of here and save literally everyone!"

"Nope sorry! Ya gotta have a Pixl shaped like a hand-"

"What the heck is a _Pixl? !"_

Mario: Link? !

"You know that crazy guy?" Tippi exasperated, gaping at the green-clothed swordmans still angrily shaking his arms about.

"Why are there so many youngins romping around my home?" the apparent mayor shouted. "All them whippersnappers need to watch it!"

"What are you going on about now-" Link started to say, slowly turning to glance over his should to see what the old man was yakking about.

His heart skipped a beat when he saw Mario standing in the doorway waving excitedly.

"Uh…ahem, er, Mr. Watch It? Will you excuse me, I'll be just a moment with this, eh, person…" Link stammered. He whirled away from the old geezer, grabbed Mario by the shoulders and nearly heaved him out the door. Tippi was just as confused as the old guy was. As soon as she followed them outside she spoke her mind.

"Mario, please explain to me what's going on? You don't just randomly find people in mayor's houses-"

"MARIO! Oh my goddesses, is that _really_ you?" Link asked, completely appalled and excited at seeing his friend again. He finally had something to be happy about!

Mario: It's-a me, Mario!

"Ugh, man, it's been _so_ LONG!" Link groaned. "So much has happened in six months…I know we just had a reunion and all, but what are the odds you're here too?"

Mario sighed and went on the long explanation of Peach being kidnapped along with Bowser and Luigi and how they were kidnapped and apparently performed a ritual told about in ancient prophetic book and created a Void in the sky that was going to suck up every last world. Link's eyes widened.

"Do you know exactly what 'ritual' they performed?" he asked cautiously.

"If you mean a princess and an evil monster king being forced to unite in holy matrimony to create the Chaos heart, then that would be the ritual," Tippi stated. Link went slack jawed.

"Peach got married to Bowser? Urrrr…"

Mario glanced to the ground sadly. Tippi appeared unfazed and continued.

"Yes…the prophecy foretells a princess and an evil monster king…forced another princess and king to get married…and wed two true loves…"

"Two true loves…?" Link winced, looking like he was getting ready to fall face first onto the ground.

Mario: Are you okay?

"And if you know Mario, and seem to be very interested in our own mission, then what brings you here? Tippi asked. Link shook it off then up righted his composure, trying to be nonchalant and shrug it off.

"Well…let's just say something very similar happened in my world. I'm guessing what I experienced may have been part of the prophecy too…and when I teleported, I ended up here in Yold Town because I wasn't in pure focus and my watch is screwed up and I can't contact anyone!"

"…I'm lost," Tippi stated. "Who ARE you anyway?"

"The name's Link," the swordsman replied, striking a pose. He glanced at Mario. "…but you already know. And the reason I'm here is that I'm trying to find the creeps that caused all this and save everybody! What're you up to Mario?"

Mario: Gathering Pure Hearts to vanquish the Chaos Heart, removed the void in the sky, and save all worlds.

"Ah, a casual response…"

Tippi would've raised an eyebrow.

Link then looked thoughtful. Mario instantly recognized the look in his eyes and grinned. Tippi quickly turned from hero to hero until she finally asked about what they were simultaneously thinking.

"You know, Mario…I take it our path are leading to the same destination, no?" Link questioned, still with a thoughtful look. "Perhaps maybe we should team up?"

Mario: Oh yes!

"Wait, wait, wait…" Tippi trailed, floating inbetween the duo. "You mean to tell me that you just so _happen_ to find an old friend and now you're going to randomly allow him to join in your great quest, Mario? Not really the smartest idea…"

"It wouldn't be the first time," Link shrugged. "I've appeared out of a bush and emerged out of a wall. This is probably the most normal encounter Mario and I have ever had!"

Mario had to agree that Link had a point.

"…you're not going to say no, are you Mario?"

Mario shook his head.

"Okay, if you really trust this guy, then I suppose it would be alright…"

Mario and Link cheered then slapped a very meaningful high five.

"Aw man, this'll be just like old times! You, me, and an adventure!" Link cheered. Tippi noticed that Mario's mood had brightened drastically, but made no comment about it.

"So, shall we carry on?"

"We can't…" Link sighed. "There's a huge chasm just beyond this town, and that old man refuses to tell the bridge worker to let the bridge up until we get something called a Pixl that looks like a hand…it confuses me, really. And I've been in a ton of confusing situations in my day, let me tell you…"

"Do you have any idea of where to look?"

"I just know it has to be somewhere in this town…maybe we should find whatever a Pixl is first!"

"I happen to be a Pixl…" Tippi grumbled. "My name is Tippi! If you need anything from me, just point at something and I'll tell you all about it!"

"Hmm…you give advice, huh? Reminds me of Goombario and Goombella from back in the day." Link then broke out in a broad grin. "Say, you wouldn't mind if I called you Tipps, would you?"

Mario lightly laughed at Link's nickname while Tippi flew back a little.

_"Tipps?"_

"Sure! It's short for Tippi, plus you give tips on things! It's perfect! Now let's see if we can find that Pixl thing…"

Mario gave a thumbs up as Tippi tried to let her new apparent nickname sink in. Link explained the only place he really didn't check was the second building (he had even been on the roof and found a Boomboxer card!) Mario nodded and proceeded to enter.

"Oh…there's nothing really in here…" Tippi mused. Link, being incredibly tall, glanced to his right and saw a pipe behind the wall of red and blue drawers.

"No wait, I see something!" he exclaimed. "Here, let me help."

Link shouted out, "HI-Yah!" and threw up his hands in a similar style to Mario, Mario and Tippi gasping in surprise when Link teleported them into the third dimension.

"_You_ know the dimensional technique too?" Tippi gaped.

"You mean teleporting? Sure! 2-D and 3-D are dimensions too, and man, I could explain how they work in full detail…but it's really long. Maybe some other time. …what do you mean by 'too'?"

"Mario was taught the dimensional technique by Bestovius… only the heroes written about in the Light Prognosticus and Bestovius himself can perform such a move…"

And apparently the villains they were going up again, Mario added in his mind.

"Mario can teleport now too? Sweet!" Link cried, pumping a fist. "Of course, I taught myself…but, hey, whatever works for you!"

Mario and Link were quick to jump down the pipe, considering the time they could spend in the 3-D world was limited. Tippi paused for a moment.

"…huh…interesting."

And she followed after also.

. . .

"…well, I certainly wasn't expecting giant Thwomps to be here in an attempt to pound us to dust as we try to traverse this room."

Link boldly prepared to jump into the line of Thwomps, but Mario grabbed his arm, rolled his eyes, then swapped back into 3-D and ran behind the Thwomps, now nothing more than a mere black line in the other dimension. Once they were safely across, they re-entered 2-D and entered the door on the other side.

"Uh…dead end?" Link asked, seeing that they was seemingly no way to go from there. Mario wagged a finger, then with the very same finger pointed at the wall, which Tippi used her powers to uncover another hidden door. Link whistled. "Well isn't that something…"

"It's nothing much…" Tippi murmured as Mario opened the secret door. The very second all three of them had stepped in t he room, the door slammed shut and iron bars formed, trapping them in.

"Oh no, the door…" moaned Tippi. "Now we're locked inside…how unusual."

"Not really," Link shrugged. "Most of the time it means the only way we can possibly get out is by obtaining some sort of power-up via big chest- and I see one! Super Sword already? Yeah!"

He sprinted to the right toward said chest, being swiftly joined by Mario as he lifted the top. Before he even had the chance to peer inside-

"SWEET FREEDOM!"

-out popped a hand-shaped objected that was most likely a Pixl. Mario, Link, and Tippi all exchanged glances as the odd Pixl looked around.

"Wait a moment…if I have been set free, then the legendary heroes must have done it! I expressed concern when the Ancients stuffed me in that chest 1,500 years ago…but it seems my fears were quite unfounded. The heroes have finally arrived!"

"Are you…a Pixl?" Tippi wondered, wanting clarification.

"Why…YES! I am indeed a Pixl! My name is Thoreau! You are a Pixl as well? But you don't look familiar…are you a newer model?"

Mario and Link glanced at Tippi, whom simply stammered in response. "I…well, I, um…"

"No matter! Details do bore me! What is important is the fact that I have waiting AGES to lend my skill to the heroes! And, glorious day, here you are! Do take me with you…you simply must! You will then? Smashing!"

Thoreau quickly spun around Mario, causing a trail of sparkles to surround everyone until he stopped above Mario's head. The plumber raised his hands for emphasis.

"So…what can you do?" Link questioned. "You're more like an object than a partner…"

"With me at your side, one may grasp objects with great vigor! Simply press "1" to use my throwing ability!"

Mario: What's this "1"?

"You need not worry. The beings watching above us will know what it is. Just remember that I can grasp objects and enemies and hurl them with gusto. Why not take a moment to get acquainted with my useful talent?"

"We don't really have a choice, do we?" sighed Link. "Ooh, Mario! Can I use Thoreau since you get Tipps?"

Mario: Sure.

"All right then!"

Link leaped over the giant chest, locating a small cube on the other side. He pointed at it, causing Thoreau to toss himself at it, grab it, then bring it back to Link who held it over his head. Then the swordsman hurdled over the chest again, landed, jumped once more, and threw the block at a blue switch on the ceiling while in midair. The cube made direct contact, also removing the bars from the floor and allowing them to escape.

"Glorious day!" Thoreau bellowed. "Consider me fully at your disposal. Now, to adventure and beyond!"

"…or back to the crazy old man so we can finally get by…" muttered Link, making his exit. Mario admitted he wasn't looking too forward to that either.

. . .

"Whoozit? I'm the elder around here, so watch it!"

"Aw, here it goes…" Link groaned, once said old man had greeted them upon entering his home once again.

"What do you want? Get off my rug!"

"Actually, we were hoping to pass through town…" Tippi explained.

"Nothing but desert past here. There's treasure, but you'll get grit in your grunders. That's what here is for. Yold Town. Keeps the treasure safe from YOU. Watch it! Can't let you pass. See this hat on my head. It's got something to tell you. Know what it says? WATCH IT! So give it up."

Mario: -.-*

"C'mon man! Don't you know who we are?" Link inquired, gesturing to himself and Mario as he whipped up some excuse. "We're...the legendary heroes!"

"Dumplings! If you were, you'd have that Pixl that's shaped like a hand! If you had one, I might believe you're the heroes. But you don't…watch it!"

"Yes we do!" Link taunted, even tossing Thoreau at Old Man Watchitt to make sure he knew.

"Whuzzut? You do? Course you do! You're the heroes! Knew it all along! I'll give that Green feller a call. He'll let you across."

"Finally…" the three of them sighed. Meanwhile Watchitt pulled out a sleek-looking silver cell phone and hit the speed dial.

"Hello? Green? It's me, Watchitt. I said Watchitt…WATCH IT! WATCH IT! I said Watchitt, not botch it! These hero fellers want to get across the bridge. Yes, I told them about the grit. Ah…yes. Let's just keep that between us. Just let the mustache guy and his friend through." he hung up, then turned to the group for a final time. "Just get off my rug and go talk to Green at the edge of town…Watch it!"

He then seemed to soften up the slightest bit. " …Well, looks like I can finally retire...my job is done. when you're in that desert, keep a watchful eye out for some ruins. The treasure is there. Nasty beasts too. SO WATCH IT!"

Tippi didn't think Mario and Link could move faster.

. . .

"About time…that has to be one of the hardest ways to get over a chasm ever!" huffed Link, once they rushed out of the mayor's house, to the edge of town, and went down a pipe that led to Green's house. It was almost exactly like Red's house, only flipped and, naturally, green-themed. Link randomly went into 3-D to claim a rare card with Red and Green on it while Mario talked to Green himself.

"I got a call from Old Man Watchitt. So you're the hero guys then, huh?"

"That is correct!" Link called, returning to 2-D.

"Right on! I'll put the bridge across for you straight away!"

Green hopped off his bed, leaped over to the big green switch, and gave it a throw. Instantly after, a large, fancy green bridge built itself over the second chasm.

"They you go!" Green replied cheerfully. "Mind if I ask you a question?"

Mario: Nope.

"Go for it!"

"Red or green? What's better?"

Mario and Link traded unsure glances for a brief moment before turning back to Green and sheepishly replying, "Both."

Green was furious.

"Wh-what? _Both of 'em?_ Grow some spines! And when you do, you can use them to get out of my house!"

He gave them each a kick, sending them flying out of his house (presumably through the roof) and landing right in front of the pipe on their heads.

"Um…OW!" Link shouted. "But it's true- red and green are pretty evenly matched. Along with blue."

Mario: Yeah!

They helped each other up, brushing off the dirt then lightly laughing at their misfortune as they crossed the bridge.

"You two must be pretty close, huh?" Tippi asked as they approached the Star Block. Link stopped walking and nodded.

"Yeah. Not even being separated for so long has affected our friendship…"

Link then turned to Mario, who was waiting to see what Link had to say before hitting the block.

"Looks like we're at it again, huh Mario?" Link smirked. Mario grinned and nodded back.

"I'm going to admit you are quite the character Link…" Tippi commented.

"Eh, no worries. I tend to grow on people."

As those words were spoken, Mario hit the block, allowing him to continue his adventure- no longer alone, but with an old friend.

The question was, would this be the only friend he'd get to see again?

. . .

With a bold quiver of his magnificent mustache, Mario let loose a hearty sneeze. A single grain of sand had flown along the warm wind and ticked the hero's nose. It wasn't long before Mario, Link, and Tippi found the source of the sand: The Yold Desert. Along the endless, sun-baked expanse, the trio continued their search…

* * *

**Tipps. ;D**

**Ah, the things I wish to say...but any little thing I want to bring up seems to lead to some sort of spoiler. :P Link originally wasn't going to appear so early (or first _again_), but due to certain things I had to match up (which I'll probably rant on about in a later chapter), Chapter 1 was the only logical spot. ) Anyway, see you all next week! ^^**


	6. The Sands of Yold

Super Paper Mario X

Chapter 5: The Sands of Yold

"Didn't Old Man Watchitt say something about there some ruins around here?" Tippi recalled.

Mario: Yeah.

"The Pure Heart can't be far now…we mustn't waste any time…"

"Pure Hearts, huh? Is that the next generation of Star Spirits and Crystal Stars?" Link questioned randomly.

"Huh-"

Mario waved a hand to tell Tippi not to worry about it- those were _completely _different stories. At the same time, they were quite the tales too…and no one shared the most part of them more than Link. Now here they were, braving more dangers on a epic search for another set of powerful objects. Instead of an intelligent Goomba trailing them…they had Tippi. So far, it was hard to tell if Link and Tippi would get along like he and Goombella did, or if it would turn into a fierce wall of hatred like with Goombario. Mario shivered at the latter thought.

"…you remind me of Navi…" Link stated, holding Tippi in the palm of his hand. "I like you more though- you're not so loud."

"Uh…thanks?"

Mario shook his head- still quite hard to tell.

"So, what's up first, Mario?" he let Tippi fly on her own now as he unsheathed his sword. "Are we just going to comb this entire desert?"

Mario hadn't the slightest idea. Link sighed.

"Oh well…something'll happen."

Mario nodded and officially set off into the desert. Not even all that far Squiglets were encountered, Mario jumping on one while Link sliced at another stylishly. Two more Squiglets came rushing over plus a Squig. Link instantly recoiled from the sudden rush of square pigs an accidentally hit his head on a ? block that contained a red flower. As Mario received yet another painful hit from the Squig's projectile and was attacked by the Squiglets, Link climbed up and snagged the flower.

Time speed up.

"WhoaMario!WhatinthisworlddidIDO?" Link squeaked, moving so fast he couldn't tell what he was doing. Mario was too busy yelping in pain as the Squig went on "rapid fire mode" with whatever it was spitting out. Link jumped off the block, landed on the Squig, then spun around and hacked at the Squiglets. Mario gave a fast thumbs up as the duo sped onward, furiously defeating enemies in the blink of an eye.

"YoupickedaSpeedFloweryouknow…" Tippi explained at the rapid rate. "Itmakestimegothreetimesasfast,andit'sonlytemporary…"

"Whee!" cheered Link, running into yet another ? Block. He was thrilled to see a Shroom pop out (even though he'd have to immediately eat it)...until it faded to blue and gained a scary face. "AUGH! Runforyourlife! It'saZombieShroom!"

Mario let out a yelp and bolted away from the possessed mushroom, wondering if all forms of his sacred home treat were whacked out somehow. The Zombie Shroom bit Link's leg, but luckily in yet another ? Block was a normal Mushroom…that somehow Link and Mario managed to share.

"Whoa,thatwasweird. Heywhendoes time slow down again?" Link questioned. He then blinked. "...Nevermind! Man, can you imagine how fast _Sonic_ could go if he used that flower? Wow!"

Mario pointed behind them at the Zombie Shroom.

"Oh yeah. My favorite treat has gone A-wall on me."

They both leaped over a rock, Link overshooting (and tripping over the rock at the same time) and nearly falling into a hole if Mario hadn't grabbed his tunic and pulled him up. The Zombie Shroom harmlessly bounced against the rock and went toward the other direction.

"That was close…" Link gulped. "I think that weird red palm tree distracted me when I made my jump!"

Mario glanced up to where Link was pointing- sure enough, an oddly misplaced red palm tree was there. Definitely peculiar. Nevertheless, Mario motioned for them to carry on, which Link agreed with.

"Say, Link…" Tippi mused, fluttering over his shoulder.

"Yes?" he replied, throwing Clefts at a Boomboxer while Mario collected some coins the foes dropped.

"You say you and Mario haven't seen each other for six months…what were you doing in the last six months?"

Link yelped at the question and tripped over another rock, Mario sighing.

"Wh-what kind of a question is that?" he stammered.

"Well, you'd think that when you reunite with an old friend you'd catch up on things, no?"

Link stood up again, retorting with, "What if there's nothing to catch up on?"

"I only thought-"

Mario: DRAGON!

"Whuzzut- YIPES!"

A huge mechanical-like purple dragon THING attempted to take a snap at them, Mario ducking and Link rolling out of the way.

"That's a Jawbus, I believe… Tippi informed them. "It's weak point is the glowing orb on its tail, if you care to defeat it. Otherwise you can just walk around it in 3-D…"

Mario swapped dimensions along with Link, walked around the enraged creature, and while Mario headed for the door, Link tossed Thoreau at its tail. Thoreau brought the Jawbus back, allowing Link to pick it up and throw it in the hole that he himself almost fell it.

"There. No more pestering innocents! Let's roll, Mario…"

Mario nodded and entered the door, his partner right on his heels.

"He never answered…" Tippi stated, fluttering after.

. . .

After chucking a Cleft in some quicksand, getting hit by pink bubbles, being put to sleep by the bubbles, AND taking out said enemy that_ made_ the bubbles, it was safe to say that Mario and Link were somewhat confused.

"It seemed so harmless too…" whimpered Link. "It reminded me of bubble gum!"

"The Zombie Shroom seemed harmless at first too," Thoreau pointed out.

"…so?"

Thoreau attempted a shrug as they started walking off again. Vast desert lied before them, but before the vast desert lied a rather huge and pointy rock. The group paid no mind to it and kept walking, jumping over a series of sandpits, taking out Clefts and a Boomboxer…until they hit a dead end.

"…"

"I sense backtracking on the horizon."

Mario sighed and instantly turned heel, traversing the series of sandpits all over again, until he reached the large pointy rock.

"Stupid rock," Link grumbled.

"The rock isn't stupid!" protested Tippi. "What did it ever do to you?"

Link gave Tippi a long look. Mario turned his head at the rock, thinking hard before randomly flipping into 3-D.

Mario: Ah-ha!

"What'd you find, Mario?" Link asked, teleporting to join him. Mario started walking forward- a path only visible in 3-D led to a secret portion of the desert. A high-five ensued as they rushed down the path, making it to the other side just as their time ran out.

"I see something over there…"

Tippi flew toward what see saw, Mario and Link trotting behind. They came to what seemed like a dragon-like statue, but it had writing on it.

"Yold Signpost," Link began, reading the inscription. "Find ye the tall red palm tree of fortune, and leapeth under its branches 10 times- AW COME ON! I swear, these places _love_ to torture the newcomers…"

**Back at the Red Palm-**

"…I despise backtracking!"

Mario: Who doesn't?

They commenced jumping under the tree, Tippi keeping track of how many times they jumped.

"…6...7...8...9...10!"

Would it be anti-climatic to say that nothing happened except a door appeared?

Link made a face while trudging over. "The most complicated procedures for the simplest things…"

Mario nodded- that's how things always seemed to be.

. . .

Link put up his shield to deflect a Squig's hairball, Tippi was asking what in the world Mario was doing, and Mario was currently climbing up onto a spring. The spring brought him to another set of those rectangles, which he unintentionally got caught in.

"Hey, that's sort of cool!" Link chirped. "I want to try!"

He jumped up onto spring too, bouncing to the platform with the first rectangle.

"Woo!"

The rectangles brought Link to the same destination as Mario: Over a sandpit and past a set of brown blocks. By the brown blocks were three ? Blocks. Mario hit two blocks with a coin, Link hit a hidden one that contained a coin as well, and the third one which contained another Zombie Shroom!

"ARGH! NOT AGAIN!"

They tried to make a run for it but a Squiglet and a Squig got in their way. Link could've sworn he heard the Zombie Shroom try to say something.

"Raaaa…"

"Eek! Die!"

Link brought his sword down on Zombie Shroom just as it went in to attack, causing it to disappear in white smoke and a Poison Shroom to emerge. Link picked it up and shivered.

"I'll take a Dried Shroom any day compared to this…"

Mario finished beating up the pigs, then turned to Link who was staring awkwardly at a huge sandpit. If they simply tried to walk across, there was no doubt that they would sink. Tippi reminded Mario of his power -again- which cued him to throw up his hands and switch dimensions.

"Well isn't that convenient?" Link hummed upon realizing there was a narrow path that crossed the quicksand. They crossed the sand with ease, but now they were stuck behind a wall of brown blocks.

"Convenience over."

Mario tapped Link's arm, then pointed upwards. Link glanced in said direction- a set of rectangles were above, but apparently not in effect. Just to the left of that was a switch. Link saw what he had to do, stepped on a nearby spring, then landed carefully on a single brown block in the air.

"Whoa…"

He then grabbed Thoreau and tossed him into the narrow nook the switch was located in, turning on the rectangles. Mario gave a thumbs up before allowing the mechanism to take him over the wall.

"Wait for me!" Link called, stylishly flipping off the block and getting caught in the rectangles himself.

Beyond the wall was another set of four blocks, and another Squig and Squiglet. Link jumped down on both of them, Mario swung down and hit the blocks. Link actually flinched when he saw a Shroom pop out of the ? Block, but Mario proved it was harmless when it sapped into their HP.

"I'll never be able to actually TASTE a Shroom again…those shakes are not an alternative- OH MAN! no more Jelly Ultraz! The sheer horror of not being about to taste the sweet taste of fungi and jelly in one bite!"

Link fainted. Mario smacked his forehead.

"What's up with him?" Tippi asked. Mario shook his head and waved the Poison Shroom in front of Link's nose. Link reawakened instantly.

"Ugh! Such a foul stench! How can we hold Poison Shrooms but not even a regular Mushroom? Blasphemy!"

"…you're quite the character Link..." Tippi claimed again. Link was still trying to recover from his black out as Mario guided him to the next door, not knowing what was in store…

. . .

"GRAH-GOOGLY!"

The bold voice with a Scottish accent was enough to make Mario, Link, and Tippi jump with surprise. "So yer the lad stickin' his stachy in me boss' business!"

Mario: …?

"I think he was talking to you…" Link whispered.

"Who's he?" questioned Tippi.

As if on cue, a large, muscular, square man with a beard came falling out of the sky, landing on the sandy ground with a thud.

"Apparently that he."

The 'he' went into a fit of rage, which defied all logic by making the doors that led out of the area disappear, preventing escape.

"Yeh shouldn't 'ave crossed the count!" he chuckled as the group cautiously approached him. "Now I'm gonna 'ave teh get chunky on yeh!"

"You…you're one of Count Bleck's thugs, aren't you? !" Tippi exclaimed. The thug struck a pose, revving up a fist and sticking his other arm out, waging a finger.

"O'Chunks is me name! An' I'm no common thus, lass. I thug for the count o' counts, Count Bleck hisself! One word from me Blecky-boy, an' I come teh make yeh feel some hammage!"

Mario: Hammage?

"Ehh…make that "damage"."

O'Chunks: ?

He threw another fit, sending Mario and Link into battle stances.

"Whatever then! Not that it matter a pinch o' stew in a sandstorm. Yer a goner!"

"Do you even know what Count Bleck is trying to do…?" Tippi interrogated.

"DEH! Me boy's usin' powers an' whatnot tah bring back some order tah this 'ere world!"

"Or all of them…" muttered Link under his breath.

"An enemy o' Bleck be an enemy o' mine! They all get chunked!"f

"This O'Chunks is a lot scarier than the other enemies we've faced so far…"

"Are you kidding? That Zombie Shroom was terrifying! This Chunk-guy looks like a cakewalk!" exclaimed Link.

"Maybe you should use my powers to investigate him when we start the battle…"

"Enough is enough already!" O'Chunks shouted, waving his fists furiously. "It's time tah thunder down from on high an' deliver a beatin' o' the ages! CHUNK ON IT!"

Mario pointed at O'Chunks before he could move.

"That's O'Chunks. He's a big, bearded, warrior of a man…Max HP is 20 and Attack is 1. He can grab you by the feet and hurl you…if you're in reach, he'll throw you, so keep your distance…but you can turn the tables and use Thoreau to send him flying…"

"The old Grab and Bag?" Link chuckled, holding out Thoreau mischievously.

Mario had no idea what that was but he knew where Link was probably going with it, so he agreed just to move things along.

"All right the- YAH!"

O'Chunks grabbed Link's legs, spun around like a tornado, and let him fly.

"Wah! Mario, look -OUCH!"

Link dove headfirst into Mario, knocking them both into the ground. Tippi sweat dropped.

"So he got in a freebie…" Link grunted, Mario pushing his cap out of his eyes. Tippi stared as O'Chunks did a victory dance. Growling, Link grabbed Thoreau and darted forward. "…but now it's our turn!"

"What in blazes-"

Thoreau grabbed O'Chunks, bring him back to Link. Link laughed as he held O'Chunks over his head.

"Who's so big and strong now, huh?"

He gave O'Chunks a hearty throw, Mario running in and doing several impressive jumps on O'Chunks head. O'Chunks went on another rampage and tried to ground-pound Link, but Mario was still bouncing on his head, even IN midair. Link rolled out of the way, pulled Thoreau out again and giving him a toss.

"Hello!" he squeaked, grabbing onto O'Chunks and pulling him to Link.

"Thank you Thoreau," Link stated. "He here comes again, Mario!"

Mario smirked, and upon seeing such a confident face O'Chunks started to whimper like a dog. Link snickered and chucked O'Chunks, Mario bounding upwards and crashing a boot to his head.

"Owie! Ow…"

"Wimp!" Link heckled, rolling out of range of being crushed while Mario continued his onslaught of jumps. O'Chunks attempted to grab Mario when the plumber touched back down to the ground, but was pulled away by Thoreau once more.

"Once more!" Tippi cheered.

Link called, "All right!"

With one last toss, O'Chunks went soaring into the air, the lat thing he saw was Mario before a foot kicked him in the face.

"I'M CHUNKED!" he bellowed, falling to the ground in pain. "Me chunks…ye failed me! I got pummeled an' yeh barely sweat yer brow. 'Ey…what kind o' strange little man are yeh?"

"This "strange little man" is none other than…the legendary hero, Mario!" Tippi explained. "…oh, and Link too."

"Every time! Sheesh…"

Tippi gave Link a weird look while O'Chunks made a face. "Maria, eh? 'Tis an odd name, yeh, but yeh can bet yer bebby I'll remember that!"

Now it was Mario's turn to make a face as he shook his head.

"His name's not "Maria"…it's MARIO!"

O'Chunks stood up and stomped his foot. "Ye remember this, Maria! If yeh didn't look like such a wee toddler, I wouldn't 'ave taken it so easy on yeh! But 'ey, I have to give it up for yer effort, so let's call it a tie. Yeh better get some chunks o' yer own for next time, though, 'ey! And while yer at it, why don't yeh wax that bonny 'stache o' yours, Maria!"

Mario: O:

O'Chunks gave a salute. "'Til we meet again, 'ey! CHUNKS AWAY!"

Link twitched and Mario flipped out as O'Chunks blasted off in probably the most unusual way known to man.

"Did you understand a word of what that goon was saying…?" Tippi wondered as the door reappeared out of nowhere.

"…would it be bad to say no?" Link laughed nervously. "All I got out of that was he thinks Mario's name is…_Maria_…"

Mario gave Link a look as the Hero of Time started snickering. He rolled his eyes and headed through the next door, hoping to finally find the ruins soon.

. . .

Upon arriving in the next area, Link almost instantly noticed an odd set of yellow platforms overhead, figuring they led to something. Mario gave Link a boost up to one, then jumped up himself.

"I hope we're going the right way…I'd hate to backtrack…"

**Through YET ANOTHER DOOR-**

"Doors in midair…this world is weird."

"What's weird for one may be normal for another," Tippi stated in a profound matter. Link rolled his eyes.

"Okay, okay…"

Mario saw another signpost up ahead, also with some sort of inscription on it. Link walked over and read it.

"Press "-" and "1" at the same time to make something of interest happen. …Tippi?"

"I don't have the slightest clue, I'm afraid…"

. . .

Back in the previous area, the heroes were armed with the knowledge of making 'something of interest' happen, but weren't sure to where it was applied. This time, they went toward the right, where another door only accessible by platforms was located…along with a creature similar to the pink bubble blower whose name escapes me. The difference? It was blue…and apparently could freeze.

"S-s-so cold…" Link chattered, shaking with all his might to hopefully melt the ice encasing him. Mario disposed of the enemy, also leveling up his and Link's HP to 20. Eventually, Link was easily able to break free of the ice, but that didn't stop his teeth from chattering.

"I can see my breath and we're in a desert! That's not right…"

Just ahead of where Link was frozen (and two Goombas that apparently knew how to teleport too) was a spring. Mario and Link jumped on it, flew up to the platforms, made their way across, and entered the door.

. . .

"Are we finally at the end?" Link wondered, speaking his mind as they walked inbetween two rows of pillars. "I wonder if the ruins are somewhere nearby…"

"It's another dead end…" Tippi sighed. All that was at the end of the path was a blue platform, and a large stone structure that somewhat resembled a closed dragons mouth. Link groaned and sat on the blue platform like it was a chair while Mario placed a hand to his chin, thinking things over.

"I don't want to backtrack again!" Link moaned.

"Maybe we won't have to?" Tippi replied, trying to be positive.

"We're at a dead end with a useless clue. What else can we do?"

"Remember that there is a great being watching over us," Thoreau recalled, poking Link. "Perhaps the great being will know what to do-"

"GREAT BEING ABOVE!" wailed Link, now standing on the blue platform and raising his hands to the sky. "Give a sign that allows us to carry on!"

As if by magic the ground started shaking violently, so hard that it sent Link falling forward.

"This desert has it out to get me."

Mario, whom had managed to stay stable the whole time, turned to see that the stone structure rearranged itself, until the "closed dragon's mouth" was now an "open dragon's mouth", leading into the ruins, along with the Star Block. Link instantly bowed.

"Thank you, great being above! Thank you for pressing "-" and "1" whatever the heck they are and allowing something of interest to happen!"

"Let us enter…we are very close to the Pure Heart…"

Mario nodded in agreement, and right before they entered the ruins (and after they got Link to stop bowing), he hit the Star Block.

. . .

Somehow, Mario had found the strength to cross the desert's sweltering dunes. Ahead was a sprawling complex of ruins rising out of the sand. Thankful for shade, Mario, Link, and Tippi ventured deeper inside. They were in the very ruins Old Man Watchitt had warned them about. What dangers lurked in the shady corridors ahead?


	7. Monster of the Ruins

Super Paper Mario X

Chapter 6: Monster of the Ruins

"Mario, I can feel it calling…The Pure Heart is nearby…but, wait…I sense something else emanating from the sands dunes. Be careful now, Mario…Something else is waiting for us ahead…"

"Listen here, Tipps, let's establish something…" Link began, stopped the expedition and halting Tippi. "You can't just keep referring to only Mario! Either you include me too…or refer to us as "Team Mario". It's much easier."

Tippi blinked. "Um…okay…anything you want to add to that Mario?"

Link sighed at the fact she referring to Mario once again, but Mario just smiled and shook his head- he was good with Team Mario. Tippi fluttered happily.

"All right then! Let's get going _Team_ Mario…"

"Such a lovely ring to it!" Thoreau sighed in a awe.

Link grinned as they started to officially make their way into the ruins. "I know!"

. . .

Through the very first door was an area filled with Buzzy Beetles. Some crawled along the floor, some lurked along the ceiling, but all of them seemed bent on bringing harm to the team. One ended up tripping Link, causing him to fall into a small pit of quicksand and be burned by a spinning fire trap.

"Why do these things never happen to Mario?" he complained, pulling himself out of the sand while avoiding the fire trap and claiming a Shroom from a ? bock.

Mario: I'm awesome, remember?

"Whatever…" Link trailed. He had jumped onto the ? Block, leapt onto another, then another until he reached the top of the room. "Stay there, I think I've found something!"

He raced across, climbed down a ladder, and found a tiny chest with a Life Shroom hidden away.

"Hmph. This one doesn't sap into our HP either!" He then slipped it into his bag. "…but it certainly will be helpful along the way!"

Link showed Mario his find when he returned, then they both entered into the next room of the ruins.

. . .

Fire everywhere.

"Well…things were bound to heat up anyway. Hey, an unintended pun!"

Mario: Suuuure…

"No, really! It wasn't- aw, Nevermind…"

Mario expertly weaved and evaded the spinning fire traps while Link did his bet to constantly roll out of the way. A locked door was in the middle of the hall, and an unreachable door was at the end of the hall, but a quick trip into 3-D revealed a reversible yellow block. Mario hit it, causing it to go into 2-D, then while in 2-D, he jumped onto it, and was able to reach the door.

"I take it we're going to have to find that key…" huffed Link, climbing up after Mario.

. . .

"…really? REALLY? That's terrible! Oh my gosh…and so cheap too! Not to mention PATHETIC!"

Mario was sweat dropping too at how easy locating the key was. Almost instantly after entering the door was a ladder that led right to the key's chest, the only thing standing in Mario's way were two rolling Thwomps that were all-too-easy to avoid. Link was still in shock at how easy that was.

"What's the point of hiding a key if it's THAT easy to find? …I think I need to lie down…"

. . .

Link was on the verge of weeping as Mario wearily stuck the key in the lock, giving them access to more of the ruins.

"That was so sad…"

"Calm down, Link..." the Pixls mumbled.

Mario wasn't disagreeing with Link, that's for sure, but he wasn't about to get on any of the Pixls' bad side, so he stayed quiet, which wasn't too big of a problem. The following area was tons more complicated than the previous ones, but still not too overbearing. The team climbed onto a set of blocks, leading over a sandpit and to the other side, though Link got his foot crushed by another set of rolling Thwomps.

Link murmured incoherent things.

There were another set of two doors, and once again, one was locked, and the one that wasn't locked was unreachable until a quick trip into 3-D changed that. A ? block was the key to getting up to the second door. Mario had to help Link up, considering his foot was still smarting in pain.

. . .

Link was in more tears at yet another simple puzzle- this one being to grab a Squiglet that emerged out of a pipe and throw it at a blue switch on the ceiling. However, instead of a chest or a key appearing, something happened outside of the room.

"Maybe the door unlocked itself! Yeah, that'd be quite the twist!"

. . .

"…or it still needs a key. That logic is still in effect. But hey, the room changed…"

Mario noticed the change too. He carefully maneuvered past the rolling Thwomps, same for Link, then carefully perched himself at the edge of the sandpit. He pointed upwards again, Link taking into account to do the same thing he did when he hit the switch back in the desert. A set of blocks, once many more than there were now, had disappeared, revealing that the key was behind them the whole time. The key became Link's once he cautiously balanced on a single block, then crouched down and threw Thoreau at the object. Link tossed the key to Mario, who used it to unlock the door.

"…and we have a door that we can't reach. What are the odds of that?"

A door was high up on the wall, and there was nothing in 3-D that could assist them. Mario noticed Tippi twitching, very slightly, and pointed underneath the floating door. Tippi's powers revealed a hidden platform.

"There's something there…I'll show it to you…"

Tippi made the platform appear, now allowing them the ability get through it.

"This place sure is repetitive," Link grumbled, leaping up onto the platform and helping Mario up. "Hopefully we won't be mulling about here for too much longer."

. ..

Link cried out in agony upon sight of yet another locked door, but the key was not too far. Mario flipped over a few spinning fire traps, came to a set of brown blocks, flipped into 3-D, and climbed into a secret room that contained the key! Meanwhile, Link had flipped into 3-D himself and located a hidden path.

"Well this is interesting…"

He navigated the narrow walkway, reaching a room with a chest that contain a Buzzy Beetle card.

"Cool! Gotta collect 'em all!"

"Link? Where did you go?" Tippi called after Mario unlocked the door.

"I'm over here! Be there in a second!"

When Link came back, he showed the group the card he found, then followed Mario into the door.

. . .

"There's been enough doors in this world alone to kill a cow!"

"What?"

"It's an expression…though I don't know why they picked cows of all things."

As Link pondered over the origin of such a saying, Mario took note of where they were now. There were at the bottom of what could be somewhat accurately described as a pit- with the typical unreachable door above their heads. The way out of the pit was via spring, but it brought them to the left side of the room, which apparently had nothing of interest.

"When in doubt, flip about! Then when that doesn't work, go crazy with Tippi."

Link now had a new motto, and Mario could tell by the pose he struck that he knew it too. Rolling his eyes, Mario took Link's advice and slipped into 3-D. Sure enough, a ladder was accessible in 3-D.

"Oh yeah- you're going to hear that line from me a TON more often!"

Mario: Great…

Link was about to make a comment to Mario's rebuttal, but the plumber was already making his way up the ladder. Sighing, Link followed after.

"I mean it! Don't be surprised if I say it again!"

Mario muttered something as he took in the new surroundings- nothing too suspicious but a blue switch on the far end. Link told Mario to stay there while he went to hit it. Once it was activated, a bigger switch appeared- it was a huge red button that emerged out of the floor under Mario!

"Holy snap!" Link gaped, running back over and stepping on it with Mario- considering a massive herd of round Thwomps were rolling out of the walls in a desperate attempt to crush Link under their might. Luckily Link bounded out of the way just in time and landed next to Mario. Both their weight lowered the button, and opened a trap door where the Thwomps were. They all fell through, filling up the pit, and making the midair door enterable.

"Irony! Now let's go!"

They both jumped down, landing safely on the Thwomp pile, and headed on in.

. . .

The next room was huge, vast, and mainly empty…except for four red switches. Link swapped into 3-D to see the numbers 2, 4, 1, and 3 on the blocks, in that order. Mario grinned, then hit the third block first, followed by the first, fourth, and finally second.

With that simple puzzle, a huge slight of stairs popped into existence.

Mario and Link were certainly in awe at the height, along with its odd entrance, but it had to lead somewhere important.

"Makes me wonder what's up ahead…" Link trailed, still looking up at the steps.

Mario: Only one way to find out…

And he put a foot on the first step.

* * *

**We've got a record for the first short chapter- *shot***

**Good thing we've got the BOSS chapter next WEEKEND...along with the first interlude and the intermission! (which you'll see are two totally different things). ^^ *crosses fingers and hopes that makes up for things***


	8. Fracktail Has Been Fractured

Super Paper Mario X

Chapter 7: Fracktail Has Been Fractured

The team was now outside the ruins, apparently on the other side. Link had unintentionally acquired a Super Shroom, but the bright side to that was their HP did happened to be a bit on the short side. The pipe they had entered the area with sunk into the sands, leaving them with no way out once again.

Though something must have been waiting for them, like Tippi predicted.

"WARNING!"

The "something" happened to be a huge magenta-colored mechanical dragon.

"INTRUSION DETECTED. LEAVE IMMEDIATELY OR BE PURGED," he continued after a mighty technological roar. "WAIT, SCAN INITIALIZED. RED CAP DETECTED. BLUE OVERALLS DETECTED. LEVEL 5 MUSTACHE DETECTED."

Link started jumping up and down and waving his arms.

"GREEN CAP DETECTED. GREEN TUNIC DETECTED."

Link cheered.

"INCREDIBLE, POSSIBLE SUBJECT IDENTIFICATION. BUT IT IS IMPOSSIBLE, HOLD YOUR POSITION, SEARCHING DATABANKS…"

The dragon went still, nothing but his eyes moving as he searched his databanks for the red capped man and a guy with a green tunic.

"SEARCH COMPLETE: ONE POSITIVE MATCH. SYSTEM OVERLOAD! LEGENDARY HEROES IDENTIFIED! FORGIVE ME, HEROES. I AM CALLED FRACKTAIL. MY ONLY PURPOSE IS TO DEFEND TO PURE HEART FROM LAWLESS INTRUDERS."

"He sure talks loud…"

"It's robot speak, I think."

"YOU ARE LATE. I HAVE WAITED THOUSANDS OF YEARS FOR YOUR ARRIVAL. YOU MAY PASS. THE PURE HEART IS JUST AHEAD."

"Hey, cool! I suppose we'll just-"

_"Ah ha ha. It won't be that easy, oh no…"_

Mario, Link, and Tippi froze, glancing at each other. Not one of them had said that...yet the voice was definitelu unfamiliar.

"WHO SPEAKS! ?" bellowed Fracktail, ready to charge at the foreign sound. The air distorted slightly as a jester of sorts teleported onto the scene. He hummed contently to himself as he glanced down at Mario.

"So nice to meet you…and your mustache! I am Count Bleck's master of dimensions, the pleaser of crowds… I am…Dimentio! Remember the name well…"

Mario's jaw dropped, Link tightened his grip on his sword, and Tippi instantly recognized him, somehow.

"I know you. You're that…"

"It would be so very DULL if your journey ended so easily…" Dimentio continued, ignoring Tippi's statement. "Instead, it ends with…magic!"

With a magic spark on his finger, Dimentio aimed it at the large antenna on Fracktails' head, making his whole body surge with unwanted energy.

"BZZZZZZRT."

"Yes, much better…now you and this robot guardian can spend some quality time…yes, quality snack time! When he snacks…on you! For you…ARE the snack! Ciao!"

Dimentio chuckled to himself while teleporting away again, leaving the team with the corrupted Fracktail.

"What did he just…"

"BEEEEEEP. I AM ERROR. PRESS ANY KEY TO RESTART. …SYSTEM NOT FOUND. INSERT INSTALL DISC. DISC NOT FOUND. PLEASE CONFIRM DISC COVER IS CLOSED. READ ERROR. INSERT BOOT DISC AND PRESS ENTER. NO RESPONSE. SYSTEM MAY BE BUSY OR MELTING INTO SLAG."

"Oh, this doesn't look good…" groaned Link. Fracktail kept twitching uncontrollably, his eyes rolling at a maddening pace.

"APPLICATION ERROR. SAVE YOUR WORK AND QUIT. YOU LOST EVERYTHING. WAY TO GO, GENIUS."

Fracktail started spewing out things about 404 computer hamsters, threat levels being upgraded to jelly roll 1, and detonation being imminent. The group took a few steps back as Fracktail lurched- he had no control! He let out another deafening roar as he sunk into the sands.

"Is he go-"

Fracktail rocketed out of the ground and into the sky, causing sand to rain all over the group. Link shook the grains off his hat.

"I'll take that as a no…" Tippi gulped.

"What're we going to do- he's flying around in the background over there!" Link called.

"He's bound to charge…"

"Gah! He actually looks vicious from that angle!" Link cringed, seeing Fracktail on full course to ram into them.

"Look out!"

Mario and Link dove into opposite directions, the robotic dragon barely missing them with its death charge. Mario fell flat on his stomach while Link rolled and landed in a crouched position.

"Now where did he go…"

Fracktail glided just above their heads, casting a shadow over them. Link made a face.

"I always speak too soon…"

"It's going to fly back in from the right, I can sense it. You should flip back into 3-D…" Tippi informed. The duo exchanged a look before throwing up their hands and flipping into the other dimension. They immediately saw Fracktail swooping in to attempt to chomp them.

"Jump on its back!" Link called, making the daring leap. Mario jumped along with him, and the next thing they knew, they were in for a ride in the sky. It veered upwards, causing the two to fall forward and grip onto its back for dear life.

"Any ideas, Mario?" Link called over the winds. Mario pointed at the antenna- it seemed to be the weak spot! "All right, how do we attack it- hey, what are those?"

Pink duck-like things started emerging into existence, approaching them with a desire to attack. Link's instinct told him to kill them, but Mario shook his head, took Thoreau, grabbed the Frackle, and chuckled it at the top of the antenna. Apparently that caused Fracktail some pain.

"There we go! Give me Thoreau back- I want to try!"

Mario gave the Pixl back to Link, who also used it to grab and throw a Frackle.

"Man, if only we could reach the antenna ourselves…that'd be easier!" exclaimed Link as he chucked another one. Fracktail screamed again and suddenly flew forward, causing Mario and Link to start sliding down his back.

"He's doing a loop!" Tippi cried.

"Woah!"

Mario tumbled backwards into a somersault as Link failed to get a good hold on Fracktail's back.

"Aaaaaaah!"

Mario's eyes widened as Link fell off Fracktail's tail, falling back to the ground. He tossed Thoreau up to Mario as he fell.

"Keep hammering him!" Link called up. Mario leaped off Fracktail's tail and onto his head, sending a thumbs up back to Link. Link smiled…until he landed back on the ground face first. "Ouch."

Mario cringed, but continued the job of defeating Fracktail while Tippi glanced over the edge of the dragon.

"Do you think he'll be all right?"

Mario nodded, slam dunking another Frackle into Fracktail's antenna. He felt the robotic guardian veer downwards, then swoop up again. It was going to charge at Link! Mario quickly struck the antenna again, hoping to do Fracktail in before he reached Link. His efforts were fruitless, however.

"Nargh!"

Link, still lying on the ground, rolled out of the way of Fracktail once again. The fall hadn't injured him- he was known for jumping from way higher heights- but it was still quite the shock. He flipped back onto his feet, feeling the wind rush along with the dragon soaring over him. Figuring Fracktail would come in from the right again, Link teleported into 3-D then ran off out of Fracktail's reach. When he came charging once again, Link jumped toward him, Mario reaching a hand out and pulling him up.

"Are you okay?" asked Tippi. Link struck a pose.

"Of course! That was like a simple hop off a sidewalk!"

Mario rolled his eyes and gave Thoreau back to Link again. Link tossed more Frackles at Fracktail in an attempt to get revenge for it sliding him off its back. Fracktail's cries continued to ring out, making Tippi frown.

"I hate doing this…he was only meant to be a guardian…"

"It was that clown's fault," Link huffed, hitting it one last time before the dragon flew into another loop. Link fell onto his bottom while Mario stumbled backwards, trying hard to keep his balance. "Not again!"

"Remember to jump!" Tippi called. Link and Mario nodded while waiting for the head to make its way back around. The only problem with attempting to stay still on a looping dragon was that it was impossible.

"I'm sliding anyway!" Link yelped, constantly trying to avoid falling off again. Mario held onto him, hoping to keep him straight. The tail was coming up fast…they both leaped, but it looked like Mario wasn't going to make it! He felt his heart skip a beat when he just missed landing on Fracktail's nose.

"I've got ya!"

Link tossed Thoreau at Mario, the Pixl grabbing the straps of his overalls and bring him to Link. Mario tipped his hat in appreciation while Link just shrugged. Tippi sighed in relief at how close that was. The duo exchanged a determined nod, then started to attack the antenna. One would grab a Frackle, then while throwing it at the antenna gave the other Thoreau to use. Using that system, they sped up the rate they could attack, and eventually it was too much for Fracktail to bear.

"SYSTEM CRASH! AGH…I HAVE MALFUNCTIONED. WHAT HAVE I DONE…HEROES…THE ERROR IS MINE. I AM SORRY…SHAME CIRCUIT…SMOLDERING. PLEASE…YOU MUST…SAVE…OUR…WORLD…"

Fracktail screamed one last time, this one sounding like circuits frying as he began to explode, leaving behind nothing but his head and a skeleton. Piece by piece, bone by bone, Fracktail rained out of the sky.

Mario and Link landed softly on the ground, Fracktail's remains scattering about. It was sad, seeing a creation waiting for years to fulfill a duty, only to make a huge error and have to pay the price. A door appeared, allowing them a way out. Mario solemnly opened it, knowing the Pure Heart to be just beyond the door, Tippi confirming it.

Link was the last one to go through, looking back over his shoulder. It wasn't the first time he had witnessed something like that…but what really got to him were Fracktail's last words.

"Don't worry Fracktail…we'll save your world...we'll save all the worlds…"

. . .

The door lead to an underground chamber, presumably. The walls were a light navy blue, glowing with rainbow designs. Mario whistled- this place was certainly sacred! Even Link was intrigued by the design of the room.

"Welcome, heroes." a lovely female voice whispered once they had reached the bottom. "My name is Merlumina."

Of course, they saw no one else in the room…until the spiritly figure of a woman in many shades of blue with long white hair appeared within one of the designs on the wall, glittering with magic.

"I am a dormant soul…I have waiting long to give you the Pure Heart. Yes, I have been waiting for 1,500 years."

She floated down to the group that was still basking at her very existence.

"Your presence here must mean that all worlds have begun to collapse."

"Yes, they have, in fact…that's why were here," Tippi explained. Merlumina nodded.

"Before I give you the Pure Heart, you and I must speak. Listen well, heroes." Mario gave a respectful nod. "Long, long ago…my people built a civilization hailed as a beacon of culture. Sadly, despite our power, there was one thing we were powerless to stop: The Dark Prognosticus."

Mario motioned for her to go on, Link attempted to appear interested.

"Nobody knows who authored the dark book. It foretold the events of the future. On the last page, it was written that a chaotic power would devour the worlds." Merlumina turned away sadly. "We knew it had to be stopped. Our greatest minds devised a grand plan to stop the tragedy before it happened. We needed something with the pure essence of love to confront this chaos. Researchers set to work…and they created the Purity Heart."

She paused briefly, then continued.

"We divided the Purity Heart into eight pieces and hid them in different dimensions. We hid them for their own protection, waiting for the day the heroes would arrive. Everything was going as planned. Or so it seemed…but the wheels of destiny began to spin wildly out of control. It began with a very small incident…"

"This may be long, but this has to be the most interesting back-story we've ever heard!" whispered Link. Tippi bumped into him for interrupting.

"At that time, I was young and quite beautiful…it started the day I met two fetching young men. And you see, my life set sail toward a maelstrom of love-"

"I spoke too soon again."

"Link!"

Well, long story short, the fair soul began to ramble about things unrelated to the entire universe being destroyed, like most Ancients usually do. Halfway into the story, they all fell asleep, and probably could've gotten away with it if Mario hadn't started snoring.

"…and THAT is why we have hope that the Purity Heart will have the power to defeat chaos. To save all worlds, we must find the eight Pure Hearts that form the Purity Heart." she turned back to the team. "And that is all I have to say on the matter. Were you listening carefully?"

The two jolted awake, Link nodding eagerly while Mario casually responded with, "Yeah!"

"Excellent…I did tell the short version, so I wasn't sure if you would fully understand. It is up to you to find the Pure Hearts, for they are our last and only hope. Go forth, heroes, and save the worlds…We are all depending on you!"

At long last, a bright ray of orange power materialized above Merlumina's head, slowly taking on the shape of a heart. It hovered over Mario's head, Link watching as Thoreau started to dance. The Pure Heart slowly lowered into Mario's grasp, until he could safely call it claimed.

"We got a Pure Heart!" Link announced. "…it doesn't have the same ring as "We got a Crystal Star" though. Darn."

. . .

Before disappearing, Merlumina had entrusted Team Mario to save every world. She had waited 1,500 years to deliver the message to the legendary heroes. With the second Pure Heart in hands, Team Mario was in great spirits. But six Pure Hearts remained to be found, and the journey had just begun.

With a flutter, Tippi said, "I think we'd better return to Flipside…"

The weight of every worlds' fate once again rested on Team Mario shoulders.

* * *

**Sorry this is so late. DX This is the only chapter I can upload at the moment, unfortunately. Check my profile for more details, I don't really wanna drone about it here. :P**

**I'll get the chapters I need to publish as soon as I can! Which won't be until next week at the latest...**


	9. In Which Team ZAP Enters

Super Paper Mario X

Chapter 8: In Which Team ZAP Enters

"Yeah, so…I guess they went ahead and stomped you and sent you back here?" Nastasia snapped to a defeated-looking O'Chunks.

"Yeh gotta forgive me Count! I've failed yeh! I've never felt less chunky in me life!"

"Bleh heh heh heh heh…So our hero is real…Yes…a force to be reckoned with…" mused Count Bleck. He turned sinisterly to Nastasia, a certain gleam in his eye. "Nastasia, the prophecy. Consult it and learn where the Heroes will go next… We will lay a devious trap for them and bring them to their very KNEES! BLECK!"

Nastasia adjusted her glassed. "Yeah, um, I already sent Mini to a site picked for that purpose…"

"This pleases Count Bleck. Excellent work, Nastasia. I have granted Mimi powers potent enough to ensure that she will obliterate these Heroes. Yes, they will be helpless against her." The count raised his arms and cape dramatically. "I depart! Alert Count Bleck when these "heroes" are no more! Bleh heh heh heh heh BLECK!"

He teleported away, bringing the Dark Prognosticus with him.

"Yeah, I'll fire off a memo on that…but for now, we have another item on the agenda. O'Chunks, you got a sec? Good. Yeah, So some minions in the Bowser organization are still resisting assimilation? So I'm heading out to squash the resistance…and while I'm gone, I want you to stay here. Yeah… You just sit tight and think about your recent job performance, 'K?"

Nastasia gave a quick tilt of her head before teleporting away as well.

"Aw… I… Gaw, this really tweaks me chin hairs!"

. . .

"Nnh…hm?"

_"P-"_

"Whuh?"

_"P…each?"_

Peach, who had currently been lying on the ground, slowly stood back up, trying to regain her senses as she took in her surroundings at the same time. Nothing but an endless void of purple and black…

"What? How did I end up napping here?" she questioned to herself.

"Oh goodness, she's awake!" a voice cried.

"Peach! Hooray!" cried a second, tackling her from behind. Peach let out a yelp, and before she could even say anything the first voice grabbed the second's shoulder and yanked her away.

"Amy, for crying out loud, she just wakes up, she has no clue where she is, and you feel the need to nearly knock her to the ground?"

"Sorry, I'm just happy to see her!"

"As am I…"

Peach was finally given the chance to turn around, only to be face to face with Zelda and Amy. In pure surprise, she happily rounded them into a group hug, the latter doing the same.

"What- huh-how are you guys here?" Peach gasped, not sure how to react to her friends' sudden appearance after six months. Amy was trying to hug Peach as hard as she possibly could as if the princess would disappear before her eyes while Zelda eventually backed off.

"Peach, can you tell us how _you _got here?" she asked. "I fear the worst…"

Peach was about to respond that she didn't know, but then looked thoughtful. "Wait…Didn't that nasty Count Bleck try to make me marry…BOWSER?"

"Yes, it's the worst…" Zelda sighed, looking solemn. Peach cocked her head.

"Huh? What's going on? You know I'm totally lost here…"

"Zelda and I were also forced into marriage too!" Amy explained. "Zelda was forced to marry Ganondorf-"

"-and you were forced to marry Eggman?" Peach guessed. Amy lightly laughed at that.

"Thank goodness no. I got to marry SONIC! Oh, it was so wonderful! I could go on about-"

"You know those marriages were fake, right?" Zelda hissed, glaring angrily at the ground. Amy frowned as Peach took a few steps back. Zelda looked up and saw the fear on Peach's face and the disappointment on Amy's.

She then fell to her knees crying.

"Oh Peach, it was terrible…Link and I…were supposed to get married! Then they came, ruined everything, I tried to fight, Link was knocked out, Malon- copied! And then I was hypnotized, me loving Ganondorf and Link saw and…"

Peach quickly bent down an place a comforting hand on Zelda's shoulder, then looked up at Amy for clarification.

"She and Link were getting married when Count Bleck's goons came and crashed the party. Someone copied Malon, knocked Link out, then the other hypnotized Zelda into marrying Ganondorf…but also forced her to say certain things that made Link think she never loved him, causing him to teleport away."

"And now I don't know where he is!" Zelda continued to sob. "He's out there, somewhere, thinking I'm with Ganondorf…I bet he doesn't even remember who knocked him out in the first place!"

"You were getting married?" Peach echoed. Zelda nodded while her face was buried in her hands. "Why didn't you invite us, or at least tell us?"

"Link said it wasn't an emergency, so he didn't want to use the watches…" Zelda sniffled. "Not that they're any good now- Amy and I were messing with them and they now only work at close range…"

"I wish I could've been there…" sighed Amy. "I would've bashed their brains in and then some!"

"I wish you were too…but that's the past, and there's nothing I can do about it," Zelda huffed, drying her eyes. She glanced over to Peach. "When the three of us were forced to be married, it created the Chaos Heart, which created the Void in the sky of every world, planning to devour everything…"

"The Chaos Heart…" Peach trailed, standing up. "I…vaguely remember something like that. I think it appeared after Bowser and I were married…and then Luigi-"

Peach's jaw dropped as she started calling out names.

"LUIIIIIGI? BOOOOOWSER?"

"It's no use…" Zelda muttered. "I've tried calling for Malon who was teleported here along with me, and I got no response."

"Sonic was sucked into a mini-Void while trying to save me…" added Amy. "I couldn't find him either…and then I ran into Zelda. Together we've searched high and low until we found you lying unconscious and decided to wait until you woke up… "

"Are we the only ones here?" Peach realized. Zelda and Amy nodded. "Oh…at least we have each other…"

"I must admit, this is definitely not the way I wanted to reunite…I wanted it to be intentional…" Zelda moaned. "…and I'm sorry I unloaded that…outburst on you Peach."

Peach shook her head. "No, no, it's fine! It must've been heartbreaking…I can only imagine what that must've been like…"

Zelda nodded. "…I only hope he's okay…"

"Maybe he IS around here, somewhere in a place we haven't looked yet, along with Sonic and maybe Malon!" Amy suggested.

"Uh…no. You're the only ones of the wedding party left standing, it looks like."

Team Z.A.P. turned to the new coming voice, seeing that it belonged to a Hammer Bro. accompanied by a regular Koopa.

"So you finally woke up, huh, Princess?"

"Oh, you guys!" gaped Peach. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, but who knows what happened. That was one CRAZY wedding!" the koopa exclaimed.

"I'll say…" growled Zelda.

"We can't even find his Groomness! You remember…King Bowser? Oh…and that guy with the mustache…I think he had on a green tux or something? Yeah, erm…Luigi, that's the guy. We don't know where he ended up either."

The Hammer Bro. took over in explaining. "Thing is, most of us minions got all brainwashed by that Bleck guy's assistant. Yeah, everybody's half-nuts! It's not safe here! We've gotta clear this area, NOW!" he whispered to the Koopa, who jumped at the request, then turned back to the trio. "Private Koopa will escort you, OK? You guys make a break for it."

"But what about you?"

"What am I gonna do? I'll TELL you what I'm gonna do! I'm gonna go help my men! King Bowser would burn me to a crisp if I left them! Leave no Koopa behind! Good luck out there Princess!…and friends! HAIL BOWSER!"

"Aw, how noble!" gushed Amy as he walked away.

"Farewell…" trailed Peach. Koopa took the chance to walk up next to Peach.

"OK ladies, we've gotta EVAC this zone! Let's roll!"

"Do you really think we can get out of here?" Amy squeaked as they started moving.

"We're getting out of here one way or another…" grunted Zelda. Peach just took a deep breath as she entered the only black door in the area. On the other side was a balcony of sorts, and apparently some commotion was going on below.

"You. Give up. There is no hope for escape."

"What the…"

Peach crouched down then peeked over the edge, followed by Zelda and Amy, while the Koopa was suddenly paralyzed with fear. Below, the Hammer Bro was cornered by two hypnotized Koopa Troopas.

"All hail the glorious count!" one of the thug Koopas blared. "Do not resist…Submit to his rule. You will love it."

The Hammer Bro was stunned. "What's this insubordination? ! Johnson! I am your CAPTAIN! Drop and give me twenty!"

"Yeah, you know what? I'm gonna have to tell you that your orders mean nothing," stated Nastasia as she arrived on the scene. Zelda growled menacingly.

"That's the witch who hypnotized me and ruined my life!"

"Shh, she hypnotized us too, you know…" Amy reminded her.

"Nastasia…" mused Peach.

"See, they've already sworn eternal allegiance to Count Bleck, 'K?" Nastasia continued, stepping closer to the Hammer Bro with each word. "And you need to, so I'll just go ahead and pencil you in for a 10 o'clock brainwashing."

The Hammer Bro struck a fighting pose and snarled at Nastasia. "You just messed with the wrong Koopa! I serve Bowser! You tell this "count"…"

Nastasia said nothing more as she gave a quick lift of her glasses, instantly swarming the Hammer Bro with her hypnotic power. The Hammer Bro. yelped, flailing about, as he was slowly losing what self control he had left.

"HYUUUURRK! …HAIL BLECK."

"Hmm-mm-mm. Yeah, there, isn't that better? So listen, there are still a few problem minions that haven't sworn allegiance…you, be a lamb and round them all up for me, 'K? Thanks."

"YES, MA'AM!"

Bleck's minions evacuated the room moments later.

"Oh man, this is going downhill fast! Did you SEE that? They even broke the captain!" the Koopa wailed. "Look ladies, if they find us, it is GAME OVER! We've gotta clear this area, STAT!"

"We'd better go to the left…" Zelda trailed, jumping off the ledge, allowing her dress to slightly puff out like a parachute so she could float down. Amy started twirling her hammer above her head, making it like a propeller. Peach, on the other hand, pulled out her trusty indestructible parasol and used that to glide down. The Koopa just made a daring hop.

"This way!" Amy called, opening another huge black door. "I think this is a way out!"

"Good work Amy…" Peach stated, hurrying quickly after. They descended down a small flight of stairs, went through another door, and apparently ended up 'outside'.

"No…NOOOOOOO!" the Koopa wailed upon seeing the dead end they had found. "Dead end."

"Well staying here won't do us any good…let's turn around and keep looking," Peach suggested. Amy glanced over the edge of the bridge-like platform- it went down for quite a ways. She shivered.

"Oh, turn back? Yeah…no. Your friend there had it right. This is your dead end."

"Great!" snapped Zelda. They all grimaced at the sight of Nastasia, backed up by a Goomba, paragoomba, two Koopa thugs, and the captain.

"Wh-who ARE you anyway?" Peach stammered, heart practically stopped at how fast they had been caught. The Koopa bravely stepped forward and took a defensive position.

"Find cover, ladies! I'm trained to handle scum like this!"

He was instantly brainwashed as well. The team screamed, watching the poor creature suffer until he lost his free will.

"Wow, you sure are lucky. I thought the wedding explosion finished all of you…" mused Nastasia. "Yeah, but this is the end of the road…and your luck runs out…right here. It's time you came on over and got with the program…Come and serve the count!"

"Never!" shouted Peach.

"Not on your life!" snapped Amy.

"You are never hypnotizing me ever again!" Zelda hissed, eyes sparking with fury. Nastasia cocked her head in an amused matter.

"Yeah, that's great and all, but my hypno-powers kinda say otherwise. Just sit tight a sec, 'K? 'Cause I've just got to brainwash you real quick."

"Talk about a full-of-herself witch!" seethed Zelda, clenching her fists. Nastasia raised an eyebrow.

"I see you've still got the brash in you…would you care to go first? I'll be sure to wash the boldness right out of you, 'K?"

Zelda smirked and started to take a few steps backs. "Do your worst…which can't be any worse than what you've already done."

"You haven't even seen what I can do!" Nastasia murmured back, preparing to raise her glasses.

"She's very powerful…" Amy gulped. "Her attacks against Sonic were massive! It was a miracle that he still remained unbroken…"

"Zelda...what're you doing...?" Peach trailed silently. She received no response.

"I can zap you at will, you know, girl," Nastasia tisked, gripping the brim of her glasses. Zelda backed up until she was at the very edge of the bridge.

"The only people who are allowed to zap are Team Z.A.P. baby! Get_ that_ through your head."

Nastasia growled and aimed at Zelda, but the princess had pushed off, jumping off the edge.

"What the-?"

"ZELDA!" Peach and Amy screamed, throwing themselves at each other for comfort while staring down at Zelda, falling into the blackness of the Void. Amy almost leaned over the edge in attempt to grab her, but Peach already knew it was too late and held her back. Nastasia was probably as stunned as the girls were, but planned to take out her fury on brainwashing them.

…and if things weren't already bizarre enough, a white square had surrounded Peach and Amy, then disappeared, taking them with it.

Nastasia was even more furious.

"WHAT! That wasn't on my schedule! Where'd THEY go?" she quickly recollected herself, though a scowl was still imminent on her face. "Well, that's not really a deal breaker…Our prophecy-fulfillment plan is running smoothly. We have no need for them. Yeah, and it doesn't matter where they run, since all worlds are about to fall…"


	10. Peach Decided to Drop In

Super Paper Mario X

Chapter 9: Peach Decided to Drop In

_I remember that day well…the room was warm. The whole place was at peace._

_"Ugh…ugh…"_

_"You're awake at last?"_

_"Where…am I? Is this a human's home? Blecch!"_

_"Don't wiggle like that. I found you at the cliff base. You took quite a fall."_

_"You're a human, correct? I don't…repulse you? I am of the Tribe of Darkness…"_

_"Why would that matter? Anyone with a heart would know not to ignore an injured soul!"_

_That was the day our paths crossed…that day…that was the day our tragedy was set into motion. _

_. . ._

Mario, Link, Tippi, and Thoreau exited the red door back at Flipside Tower. Link whistled.

"Well, this place is…different…"

"First, to Merlon's place…" Tippi informed, ignoring Link's musings. Mario nodded and headed for the elevator.

"Wait…there's another Merlon? Oh great!"

The very second they stepped out of the elevator, they were greeted.

"You return so soon?"

"I take it THAT'S the Merlon…" Link mumbled as Merlon himself strolled up.

"I can see from your faces that it went well, indeed…let's head back to my house so you can tell the details. Please, step right in."

He motioned to them, then entered his shiny blue-green house. Before Link could bother protesting, Mario grabbed his arm and yanked him toward the house. They glared at each other and even got into a small fist fight until Tippi broke them up and Merlon started talking.

"So, how was it, dear friends? Did you find a Pure Heart?"

Mario nodded and pulled out the orange Pure Heart they acquired from Merlumina.

"Oh ho! Such true brilliance…This is a true piece of the one true Purity Heart!"

"Yes, we met Merlumina…She gave it to us…" Tippi explained. Merlon jumped from the very mention of the name.

"Wh-what? Lady Merlumina? You were well met. She is an ancestor of mine. She was the one who wrote the Light Prognosticus to counteract the dark one…Merlumina and those who followed her built this town. They are why we are here."

As everyone pondered over this new insight, an obviously paranoid voice started screaming, and its owner burst through the doors.

"M-M-MASTER MERLON! B-B-BAD NEWS!"

"What is it? Get a hold of yourself, lad…" Merlon ordered the man who had ran in.

"Y'Ysee…"

**Over 9000 "ums" later…**

"…a girl fell out of the sky."

"What? A girl fell out of the sky? What in the worlds?"

"I dunno! Just, please! Get on the elevator and come up and see her!"

"So it shall be!" Merlon announced. "And you, Mario, come along. We may need your presence as well."

"All in a day's work!" Link replied. "Though I wonder what girl goes and gets herself thrown out of the sky! …besides Malon."

**Flipside 3rd Floor-**

"Good gravy is that _PEACH?"_ Link just about barked. He and Mario traded worried expressions before rushing over where the guy was explaining everything.

"Uh, yeah, so I was just looking up at the tower, and she fell outta nowhere!"

"Hmm…she does not look at all familiar to me. Who could she be?"

His question was answered when Link practically tackled the princess and Mario slowly began to explain.

"What's the matter?" Tippi asked as Mario and Link were thrown into a frenzy.

"Princess Peach?" Merlon repeated after Mario explained. "So this is the princess Count Bleck kidnapped?"

Mario: Yeah!

Merlon turned to Peach, Link trying to wake her up, looking for a sign of something.

"Peach? Peach? Can you hear me? Are you all right?"

"Well, the poor girl seems to have had a rough time, of that we can be sure. She doesn't appear to be conscious…and she is shivering uncontrollably…what could the problem be?"

Link stood up and turned to Mario, his expression mirroring his own. As the guy who had witnessed the spectacle was about to suggest a moment of silence, Merlon snapped his fingers upon receiving an idea.

"Oh ho! I know! Mario- er, Team Mario, I suppose…"

"Thank you," concurred Link.

"…you must go to the chef named Saffron on the first floor of Flipside."

Mario: ?

"I am sure she knows a warming and revitalizing recipe for this poor girl…Once she revives, we will be able to ask Princess Peach exactly what happened. Now, off with you! Find Saffron the Chef on the first floor!"

"Right!"

**First Floor-**

"What are the odds, man?" Link yelped, still obviously in a buzz after seeing Peach- and after he randomly bought a Fire Burst from the store. "I take it that maybe both your world and my world were involved in this whole sha-bang!"

"Ah, but you forget that there were three marriages…apparently your princesses were only two…" Tippi pointed out.

"Makes me wonder what third world was involved…" Link pondered. "Well, no point in worrying about that. Peach being okay is my number one priority at that moment…"

Mario: Uh-huh!

They entered a cute-looking building with a pot on its main sign, figuring this must be the place.

"Welcome to Sweet Smiles!" the cook behind the counter welcomed as soon as they were in the door. "Oh sugar, our dishes will turn that little frown right upside down!"

"That's good- a friend of ours is out cold!" Link explained. Saffron gasped.

"Oh mercy! Well, listen here, sugar…she sounds like she needs some Spicy Soup! All I need is a Fire Burst to make a pot of soup that'll warm her up in a jiffy!"

Mario was dumbfounded as Link casually pulled out his Fire Burst. "How totally unexpected! I conveniently _happen _to have a Fire Burst! What a coincidence!"

Mario stared at Link oddly as he handed the item to Saffron.

"Aren't you the enterprising one!"

Link just shrugged. "I try!"

Mario: Oh brother…

"One Spicy Soup, coming up sugar!"

Saffron spun her ladle around before getting to work, and even humming a quirky tune.

"Ooh la la la YUMMMM! Put it in your TUMMM!"

Mario caught Link dancing to the tune. Saffron then whirled around with a bowl of soup in her hands.

"Sorry about the wait, sugar, but it turned out just right! This outta wake up that sleeping beauty of yours, sugar! Get it to her just as quick as you can!"

Saffron handed to the soup the Link.

"Don't worry, we will…"

Mario: Oh yeah!

**Flipside 3rd Floor again-**

"All right, you hold her up Mario!" Link requested, walking in front of Peach with the soup. Mario silently agreed, heading over and propping his fair princess up. Link then managed to carefully get her to down the hot soup. Almost immediately afterward, Peach began to stir.

"Ugghhhh…"

"Oh ho. It seems to have worked," deduced Merlon.

Peach blinked, stood up inbetween Mario and Link, and let out a yawn.

"Mmmm…I feel like I ate the most delicious thing…" she mused. "I haven't had a dream about such tasty food in ages…"

Mario: Hi!

"Hey Peach!" Link said. Peach turned around and happily clasped her hands together. "Oh! Mario? You're okay! But…where exactly are we?"

"This is Flipside…" Tippi trailed. Peach cocked her head at Tippi, then just nodded.

"Um, okay…" she spun around to face Merlon. "And who are you?"

"My dear, I am called Merlon. And that is what's known as a Pixl. Her name is Tippi. Come, let us adjourn to my house. I would be grateful if you would tell us more there."

Mario: Yeah!

"Yeah, I bet you've got quite the tale, Peach…" Link chuckled. Peach was about to laugh along, until she realized just who was laughing with her.

"Oh Link!" she gasped, throwing herself into Link's arms. "You're okay! You're alive! And you're with Mario- thank gosh…"

Link blinked. "How come you didn't notice me when I first talked to you-"

"She jumped, Link! She jumped! " Peach sobbed, now lightly dropping tears onto his tunic. "I am so sorry…"

"Wait, what? Who jumped? What are you talking about Peach?"

Peach wearily forced herself to look up at Link before whispering, "Zelda did."

Link froze. "What?"

She removed herself from Link and made an attempt to stop crying. "It's a huge story…I'll tell all once we get back to Merlon's house…"

"It's okay…" Tippi murmured, flying over by Peach's side. "Please, no tears…"

"hm, this seems a little worse than I thought…" mulled Merlon, starting to head for the elevator.

Mario glanced back at Link, whose face was now pure white.

**Merlon's House-**

"…and then before I knew it, I awoke and saw Mario, Link, you, and Tippi…" Peach finished. Merlon shook his head.

"Well, my dear, that is assuredly a tale of woes and troubles…"

"So your friend Amy was the third one to be wed…interesting…" pondered Tippi. "Awfully coincidental…"

Peach nodded to the Pixl, then turned to Mario. "Oh Mario…what do you think happened to Luigi and Bowser?"

"And everyone else involved…" muttered Link. "It seems like everyone in the gang was somehow involved or forcibly teleported except for Kirby, Meta Knight, and Samus if what you say is true…"

Mario just shrugged.

"Yeah, you're probably right…there's just no way to know for sure…" sighed Peach. "I just hope they're safe…"

"Don't we all…" huffed Link.

"Merlon…what should we do next?" Tippi asked, breaking the mood.

"And one Pure Heart will lead the way to the next…" So it is written. There are still more Heart Pillars to be found in Flipside, young ones. When you find the next Heart Pillar, you must set a Pure Heart in it. And when you do so, a door to the world containing the next Pure Heart will appear."

Everyone nodded to show they understood.

"And…my intuition tells me the next door may lead you to the mysterious Merlee. Like Bestovius and I, Merlee is one of the Ancients…we are like long-lost cousins. Yes…I have heard that Merlee has long guarded an ancient and secret treasure. If my instincts are correct, it may be the next Pure Heart we seek. I must tell you, the Light Prognosticus also speaks of her magical powers…"

"So, we just need to find this Merlee person, is that it?" Peach recapped.

Merlon was surprised. "Oh ho! Are you going as well? You should not tax yourself. You've only just recovered…and…it may be dangerous…"

"Well, I can't just sit here and let everyone else go off and save the worlds, now, can I?" Peach huffed back. "After all, the Void that is spreading in the sky is my fault. Mine and Bowser's…"

"Not just you, apparently…" Link pointed out. "Also Amy and Sonic's and…Zelda and Ganondorf's…"

Peach shrugged. "So I'm going, and that's final! I've made my decision."

"I guess we need to find that next Heart Pillar…" Tippi pointed out. Merlon seemingly ignored whatever Tippi just said, as he was completely intrigued by Peach's nature.

"Hmm…this princess is headstrong, to be sure. How very refreshing." he moved closer to Peach and handed her a key. "I insist that you take this. There are secrets in this town that even I do not know…This may be one of the keys to uncovering them. Quite literally, in fact."

Link burst into a fit of laughter, receiving weird looks from everyone.

"…am I the only one that found that funny?"

"Please, use this key here wherever it fits in town. My intuition tells me you should be able to use it very near my house… I will continued to read the Light Prognosticus and look for any clues that may help. I am sure that musty old tome still has much to teach us. Yes, much indeed. Now, Team Mario, Princess Peach…do all you can to stop the counts evil plans!"

"Let's go, Mario and Link! Come on, Tippi!"

Mario: Yeah!

"It's going to be weird with a girl in the group…" Link admitted as Tippi was somewhat surprised that Peach had acknowledged her.

"You travel with Samus all the time!"

""Girl" does not describe Samus."

Peach gave Link a weird look as they exited Merlon's house.

"All right, Merlon said that key can be used somewhere near his house…" Tippi recalled. "But I don't see anything…"

"When in doubt flip about!" Link threw in.

"Flip? What do you mean by that?" asked Peach.

"Can you teleport?"

"No…"

"You can't even swap into the 3rd dimension?"

"Nope…"

"I don't know what's odder…the fact Link was already able to flip dimensions or the fact that Peach can't…" Tippi ruminated.

"Either way, it brings a predicament…" Link pointed out. "We can't exactly carry on in 3-D, we'll end up leaving Peach behind!"

"There is one thing you could try…" Tippi began to suggest. Peach turned her way.

"Really? What is it?"

"It's a technique called "taking control"…it usually works with more people, but I think it would apply here. It's where one or more people perform a certain action while anyone else who can't perform that action magically follow along…it's a weird, logic-defying move, but I think it'll get us by!"

"Should we try?" Link suggested. Mario decided it was worth a shot. "Okay…uh, taking control!"

Mario and Link flipped into 3-D, and simultaneously found a gate with a lock on it. They exchanged a grin, Mario sliding the key in the lock and giving it a turn. The gates swung open, and they stepped into the newly accessible area. Just to their right and up a bit was a secret path. Link saw the next area not too far away and quickly rushed over the path. When Mario managed to catch up with him, he swapped out of 3-D and stopped "taking control".

"…yes, that's definitely a weird technique, but it works," Peach shrugged, suddenly appearing next to them. She took a few steps and smiled. "Hey, there's a pipe!"

"I bet it leads somewhere!" Link cried, running over and jumping in. "Huzzah!"

Peach blinked and turned to Mario.

"Is he always like that?"

Mario: Usually only when Shrooms are involved.

. . .

The pipe lead to the underground outskirts of Flipside, and they were apparently filled with Squigs. Mario suffered yet another sneak attack from a hairball and doubled over. Peach saw him fall and shook her head.

"Do you let little things like that always get to you on your adventures?"

"Hey! That is very painful what he went through!" Link defended. He then folded his arms and put on a daring look. "I bet you couldn't beat up a Squig without breaking a nail or something!"

Peach smirked and whipped out her parasol. "Watch and learn, Hero of Time."

She skipped toward the Squig, catching its attention. It spat another projectile, but Peach crouched down and hid under her umbrella, rendering the attack useless. Then while it was recuperating, Peach jumped up and landed on it with her high heeled shoed and instantly defeated it.

"That was kinda fun! Simple, but entertaining!" she giggled. "Can I do another?"

Link's eyes were the size of saucers at how easily she managed to take care of it. "…be our guest."

Peach grinned then went berserk, jumped onto three Squigs in a row and taking them all out without any problem, even pulling off a few stylish moves in the mix. Mario was impressed.

"Well, she's good for a beginner, that's for sure!" Link admitted. Peach beamed and curtseyed.

"Thank you kindly."

"Not that Peach kicking butt isn't cool, but we've reached another dead end…"Tippi groaned. Link struck a pose.

"Not a problem! We'll just flip…IN 3-D!"

Mario took control again, raising his arms and swapping him and Link into 3-D, locating another path. This time, in the secret area that it led too, was the next Heart Pillar. But alas, it seemed like they couldn't get to it!

"Looks like it's my turn to take control…" Peach realized, now standing on a high-up block. Mario turned around and yipped at the sight of Peach.

"…did you see her go up there?"

Mario: Nuh-uh.

"…is that even possible?"

"Just leave it to me, gentlemen…" Peach order, pulling out her umbrella again. She took a leap off the edge, the wind catching in her parasol and allowing her to glide safely across to a midair block that Mario and Link would never be able to reach. She continued the floating process until she reached the Heart Pillar.

"Mario, would you be a dear and toss up the Pure Heart?"

Mario: Okie-dokie!

He gave the heart a light toss, Link cringing in fear in case Peach dropped it or it slammed into a wall. Just the opposite- Peach caught it delicately then allowed it to float into its rightful spot in the Heart Pillar. The same thing happened like the first time- except, the patterns around the pillar were orange and the door that appeared on the tower was orange also.

"Well that sure was pretty…" Peach trailed. "I wonder what happened though."

"I'm not all too sure either Peach," Link admitted sheepishly. Mario explained that a new door appeared on the tower, allowing them entrance into the next world with a Pure Heart. He then pulled out the Warp Pipe, and before Link or Peach could ask what the heck he was doing, they were instantly whisked away to the top of the tower.

. . .

"Whoa, a little warning next time, Mario!" Link exclaimed, dizzy from the sudden departure.

Mario: …oops.

"It's all right Mario- you certainly got us here faster!" Peach hummed. "So, are you guys ready?"

Mario nodded eagerly while Link struck a pose.

"You bet!"

Mario was the one to approached the door, opening it moments later and walking into an unexpected world. Link prepared to enter also, but Peach grabbed his arm.

"…I know what happened, Link."

Link's happy outlook quickly went gray at the mere mention of the incident. "…so you know how she-"

"Yes. And I'm a bit upset that you didn't bother to invite any of us to that wedding!"

"I'm sorry! It's just I…I…I really don't want to talk about it, Peach…"

Peach put her hands on his shoulders and made him look her in the eyes. "I know you must feel like your heart is broken…but don't you care that Zelda jumped off a castle in a Void? Who knows where she ended up! Or if she's even all right…I hope she is…"

"Of _course_ I care…" Link grunted back, eyes filled with regret and sadness. "…but don't hope she's okay. Believe she's okay. Believe she found someway to save herself…if there's one thing I learned during all this adventuring, it's to care about what's happening, but not to mull over it. It hinders progress…"

Peach raised an eyebrow. Link sighed and hung his head.

"Please don't mention it, Peach…I won't be able to keep myself going if I wallow in how terrible I feel…and whatever you do, you better not mention a word of this to Mario, you hear?"

Peach's hard stare softened up. "Of course I won't tell…because_ you're_ going to do it sooner or later. Now let's go- we mustn't keep Mario waiting!"

She grabbed his wrist, gave a small smile, and, while hoping to push away their negative feelings, excitedly dove into adventure.

. . .

With Princess Peach at their side, Team Mario set out once again, bound for adventure. This time, our heroes were tasked with finding the mysterious charmer, Merlee. If Merlon was right, then Merlee was the key to finding the next Pure Heart. Never one to flinch from danger, Mario set out to find Merlee's mysterious mansion. But little did they know, the evil works of the dastardly Count Bleck awaited at every turn…

* * *

**I still owe you people one more chapter. ^^;**


	11. Bogging to Merlee's

Super Paper Mario X

Chapter 10: Bogging to Merlee's

The next world started out in a beautiful golden valley, otherwise known as Gloam Valley. It was much more elegant that what Lineland was, and Peach was certainly seeming to take an interest in the scenery.

"The Pure Heart is somewhere up ahead…Yes, it must be…But it could be a ways…" Tippi informed. "Let's go…"

Mario: Okay!

"Wow, this place is sort of beautiful…" sighed Peach, basking in the cheery aura.

"It doesn't beat the Boggly Woods…" murmured Link under his breath. "That place was simply gorgeous…"

The trio of heroes started off, ready to take on whatever would be thrown at them. A grassy platform was crawling with Koopa Troopas, but with jump from Mario and a kick from Link, they were no more. Peach then climbed up and hit the ? Block, receiving a coin. While she did that, Mario and Link absent-mindedly carried on without her.

"Think we can make it across that gap?" Link asked, eyeing the other side of a small pond. Mario nodded, so both of them took a few steps back, then sprung off.

Peach face palmed as Mario fell into the water and Link slammed into the wall. She glided over to the platform they had jumped off from and snickered.

"That certainly wasn't very smart!" she teased. Mario swam back to shore while Link fell off the wall _then_ splashed into the water. He gasped for air and failed about- he wasn't expecting that to happen!

"Q-Quiet Peach! It was worth a shot…" Link sputtered. "Just…take control so we can get across…"

"What's the magic word?"

"…please?"

"Ah, girl influence. Gotta love it!" Peach giggled, taking control and floating across without a problem. She stylishly claimed another coin out of a box, then carried on. When Mario and Link magically appeared by her side, Link defeated a Spiky Goomba via swinging his sword. He then bravely jumped ahead of the rest of them and struck a heroic pose.

"I'll cross this pond first, to make sure it's safe!" he announced.

Mario: -.-*

"Okay…but it looks fine to me…" Peach started to say, until Link whirled around and waggled a finger.

"No, looks can be very deceiving. Let the well-experienced hero show you how this is done…"

Peach folded her arms and raised an eyebrow while Mario's hand made hard contact with his face. Link, meanwhile, made an epic jump onto the first platform, quickly realized it was sinking and leaped to the next.

"See? My skills have detected that it is perfectly- AUGH! FISH! FISH!"

Link yelped and fell backward after a Cheep Cheep jumped out of the water in an attempt to attack. He landed in the water once again, and he could hear Mario and Peach lightly snickering.

"Like you could do better! That fish took me by surprise!"

"Whatever you say Link…" Peach replied airily, floating over the pond as Mario took his turn to jump across, even landing on the Cheep Cheep and flipping off of it. Peach ended up floating right onto a Squig, doing unintended damage but deciding to finish it off anyway, while throwing in a few stylish spins. Link grumbled something as he submerged himself half underwater.

. . .

Peach continued to float, Mario continued to jump, and Link continued to take unexpected dives in the water, making their way through the valley. Their trek seemed to end when they reached a locked door.

"…well great. And unlike in the ruins there's no obviously hidden key," Link complained.

"Well, there's a pipe up there," Peach pointed out. "And there's a few platforms we could maybe use…"

"Princess Peach sure is on the ball…" noted Tippi. Link twitched.

"And I'm not?"

Mario: Not recently…

"Grah! Typical Link treatment!"

"We're only messing with you," Peach laughed. "Now give me a boost up onto that platform!"

"Fine…"

Peach was boosted up to a platform, using her gliding ability to land safely. Link then gave Mario a lift, sending him flipping into the air and being caught by Peach. Link did a few stretches to prepare himself, then lunged at the duo. They managed to grab his arms and successfully pulled him up.

"Shortcuts!" Thoreau randomly cheered.

"They do tend to make things easier…"

They all ventured down the pipe.

. . .

"Ooh, pigs! I've got 'em!" Peach cried, rushing into battle. With two hops and two stylish flips, she had already defeated two Squiglets! She followed up to that by flipping onto the Squig and defeating him also. The simple maneuver was all it took for a chest to appear. Mario kicked it open and acquired the key. Link snagged the key and muttered something about things being too easy again as they exited via the pipe.

Link put the key in the lock and entered the next rainbow door. Instantly on their right was a ? block, that Peach hit and claimed Pil Pal versions of herself. Mario explained what they did, and she smirked.

"Anyway," Link began, eyeing the Mini Peaches on the ground. "Where do we go from here?"

"Good question," Peach replied while stomping on a Goomba. Mario dispatched another one and got the group moving again. Again, they came to a dead end after ignoring a very conspicuous looking door. Peach's plan was to use a pipe to get up to a platform with a rectangle mechanism, but the problem was, a vicious Piranha Plant was inhabiting it. Link made a bold attempt to slashing but received a chomp on the arm instead.

"Hmm…you know what? You two stay here. I'll go…" Peach commanded, jumping onto the pipe and one of her Pil Pals killing the Piranha Plant. Link glanced at Mario who only shrugged. "Would you like to come, Tippi?"

Tippi let out a small squeak of surprise, then floated over to Peach. "Sure! It won't hurt, I suppose…"

Peach smiled, then made her way onto the platform, where she allowed herself to be swept up by the rectangles. "Here we go!"

Bringing out her parasol and slinging it over her shoulder over again, Peach glided from platform to platform, even taking out a few Koopa Troopas and their para-counterparts along the way. Eventually she landed on a platform with a pipe that took her into the background. As she made her way over the square hills and floating over gaps, she noticed Link inspecting the nearest windmill while Mario was keeping track of her progress and even waved to Peach. Peach smiled and waved back, then finally reached a blue switch that revealed a hidden door at the dead end.

"Woo! Peach did it!" Link cheered. "…and the structure of this windmill is QUITE fascinating!"

Mario raised an eyebrow at Link while they awaited Peach's return, then once she came back, they pressed onward.

. . .

"So, I wonder what's next for us…" Peach pondered as they entered through the next door.

"We never know," Link sighed. "It's either something awesome, something frustrating, or something so easy that it's frustrating."

Mario hit a few blocks overhead, then climbed up onto a ? block to reach an even higher one. Out popped a Mega Star…which was aimed to land on Peach as she walked ahead of the group.

Mario: Uh-

"Hm? Is something the matter?" Peach asked, now turning around. Link cringed while Mario frantically motioned for her to move, but it was too late. The Star landed on Peach, and she instantly gained its power. Peach blinked as she suddenly froze, feeling the new sensation suddenly take her over. Her eyes widened as she stared at her arms.

"…what's going on?"

Mario: …Mega Peach?

The men watched as Princess Peach grew ten times her size into a destructive 8-bit version of herself. Without warning, she went on a rampage, tearing straight through Gloam Valley and taking out any blocks or enemies in her path. She pretty much left the place being a disaster area.

Mario and Link just followed cautiously behind as their eyes grew to the size of saucers.

"Man, Peach is practically on a spree!" gaped Link. "Look at her go!"

When Peach made it to the other side of the current area, her power-up wore off and she fell softly back to the ground, somewhat discombobulated from the new experience. Mario and Link- now feeling that they were safe- rushed over to her side.

"Whoa…that was…different…" she mused, trying to keep her head still.

"Well you don't have much practice with a Mega Star…" Link explained. "But dang, you really brought the place down! Nothing stood in your way!"

Mario nodded in agreement as Peach stood up and brushed herself off. "Thank you! So…you guys don't think I'm a hindrance to you?"

Mario and Link both shook their heads.

"Of course not, Peach! Without your help, we wouldn't have even be able to, dare I say it, make it past that small pond…"

"I only say that because just about all the time, I'm kidnapped, and because of that you guys might think I'm useless…"

"You're not useless either! Remember back when Bowser put your castle into the sky? You, your team, and Twink really helped us pull through! And when you were stuck on the moon, did you let being stuck in an unknown place stop you from getting important information to us? No! You even found a talking computer to help you out! Peach, you're the most helpful person I know, even when you're kidnapped!" Link exclaimed.

Peach was beaming at this point. "You really mean that?"

"You bet the Triforce I do!"

Mario: Oh yes!

"You two are so sweet! But now that you mention it…I have gotten a bit stronger, ever since I met Zelda and Amy…" Peach trailed. "There was a time when I could be easily pushed around, and nowadays I can hold my own!"

Link was going to butt in with something about 'preventing kidnappings', but since Peach was in good spirits, he changed his mind and guided everyone through the door. Tippi, once again, briefly stayed behind.

"If what they say is true…then Princess Peach is very impressive as well…"

Leaving her musings to the back of her Pixl mind, Tippi slipped through the door just before it shut.

. . .

Entering the next area with high spirits, Peach practically skipped into another ? Block. This one had a blue flower (similar to the Fast Flower) pop out.

"Hey, what kind of flower is that?" Link asked, approaching it and cocking his head.

"This is Slow Flower…" Tippi explained. It temporarily slows time to a crawl."

"So it's the opposite of a Fast Flo- PEACH DO NOooooot graaaab thaaaaat…"

"Oooooops…" Peach giggled nervously as she slowly landed back to the ground. "Thiiiis iiis kind of coooool thoooouuuugh…"

"Weeeee haaad beeeeetttteeeer keeeep gooooing anywaaaay…"

Mario nodded in slow motion before jumping upwards onto a brown block overhead- slowly. Link and Peach gradually followed, and soon enough the trio was bounding over the blocks like they were on the moon, in all its zero gravity glory. Peach let out a long-lasting laugh when she leaped onto a Squiglet and killed it slowly. A ton of coins appeared after it was defeated, which Link slowly scooped up.

Mario jumped down, now that they were over the small body of water (because seriously, who wants to swim slowly in water invested with evil fish?) and hit another ? Block, this one containing a Coin Flower. With Link's quick -or not so quick- okay, Peach grabbed the flower, and coins rained down from the sky.

"Floooooweeeer Pooooweeeer!" Link cheered. Mario had no idea if he intended the pun or not, but he'd bet that it probably was. As they jumped around gathering coins, time suddenly sped up again and the new speed sent Link tumbling into Peach, and both of them fell onto a randomly placed pipe.

"Ow…"

"Sorry, I wasn't expecting to snap out of slow motion…"

Peach lightly shoved Link off, then peered into the pipe as if it never happened. "That's awfully odd…"

"Should we check it out?" Link asked.

Mario: Oh yeah.

"Down the pipe it is!" Peach hummed, floating down into it. Mario and Link exchanged shrugs before following her. That particular pipe led to a seemingly empty blue brick room. Peach instantly started feeling the walls for some sort of secret passage.

"Eh…what are you doing?"

"Don't these places always have some sort of secret?" Peach replied in question form, still poking around.

"Maybe you should try Tippi," Link suggested to Mario, who prepared to use the Pixl's power.

"W-wait!" cried Peach. "C-can I use Tippi? I just think I should get used to her power…"

Link raised an eyebrow, but Mario was happy to lend Tippi to Peach. Peach smirked and pointed toward the top of the room, discovering a hidden ! Block, almost as if it was natural.

"Even if you can't see it, you should still be able to activate it…" Tippi informed.

Peach grinned. "Sweet!"

Link whistled as Mario jumped up and hit it while Peach kept it visible. A new pipe popped up, giving them a way to get deeper into the underground room. Tippi was impressed that Peach had found the switch so fast, as was Link. Mario, on the other hand, was quite proud of Peach. She was right, she definitely had stepped it up quite a bit…what a team player too! Plus she was just bursting with positive energy…no wonder she was prophesized in the Prognosticus.

In the room below was an orange washing machine-looking enemy, floating in front of a crack in the wall. Before their very eyes, it began to copy itself well out of their reach.

"In order to kill them all…you must destroy the original…" trailed Tippi.

"How can we tell the difference? They're…copies!" yelped Link.

"One has to be the copier, no?" Peach shrugged. Mario knew which one was the real one, and quickly ran for the wall. "Mario-?"

He bounced onto the wall, pushed off, plowed through the enemy copies, did a spin, and struck the original. It disappeared in a puff of smoke along with all the remakes. Peach applauded Mario's cleverness while Link investigated a big chest that appeared.

"Okay, this one HAS to have the Super Sword! And maybe Peach can get a Super Parasol! Ooh…I'm excited!"

He eagerly lifted the hatch…only to hear another voice of a Pixl.

"SSS-BOOM!"

"…Where is my super upgrade! ?"

"Link!"

Link was somewhat disappointed, glumly glancing up at the Pixl once trapped in the chest.

It resembled a bomb.

"Well aren't you the cutest thing!" gushed Peach. Boomer turned to her and lightly smiled.

"Good vibes! Them vibes et off my blow-stuff-up sensors! You like explodin'? Sss-POW! I ain't sensed real good blow-stuff-up vibes in…1,500 years! SSS-POOOOM! I gotta check those vibes out a little more close-like! Sss-CRACK!"

Mario just stared, Peach seemed absolutely thrilled, and Link was lost in thought. Boomer floated away from the chest and in front of them.

"Check it out: just answer a couple questions real quick. Sss-BLAM! Ok, Sss-BOOM?"

Mario: *points at himself*

"Here we go, sss-BWAMMO! You stay up wondering if anyone gets presents TO Santa Claus."

Mario, Link, Peach: ?

"…yes?"

"For some reason, you clean up your room before a test."

"Uh-huh…" "Absolutely!"

"When someone says "Let's just be friends", you think, "Yeah, whatever.""

"And how!" "No doubt!"

Mario was wondering why Link and Peach had such positive answers.

"You don't really understand why I'm asking you all these questions."

"You got it!" "Truer than true!"

"You think shopping online is a wonderful and magical experience."

"Right on!" "All my life."

"You once put on a shirt inside out but didn't bother reversin' it before goin' out."

"Yeah, I remember that." "All the time!"

"You wanna be sleeping when you're awake, but when you're tired, ya wanna wake up."

"Exactly!" "Always!"

"You're getting real tired of these questions."

"You said it, not me." "Umm…yeah."

Boomer nodded and flew up high. "Got it! Got it! GOT IT! Sss-BOOM! You got some tasty vibes! Sss-BLAM! My mind's made up now! Sss-BLAPOW! You guys…are worthy of my power!"

"Woo!" cheered Thoreau. Boomer spun eagerly around them, a trail of sparkling following behind him just like when Thoreau joined.

_. . ._

_"Who…me? My name's Bombette. In case you haven't noticed, I'm a Bob-omb. Pleased to meet you," Bombette explained._

_"Bombette's a pretty name. I'm Link, hero and adventurer extraordinaire…" introduced Link. Mario gagged._

_. . ._

"Can I have Boomer instead of Thoreau?" Link asked quietly. Peach shifted.

"…and then can I have Tippi? For some reason I really like her…"

Mario honestly didn't mind- but he did have to question why they wanted such specific Pixls. He took Thoreau from Link, Boomer eagerly floated to Link's side, and Tippi nervously fluttered to Peach.

"You really like me?" she squeaked. Peach held out her hands for her to land on and nodded.

"Mmm-hm! I can't explain it…but you do seem quite nice!"

"Thank you, Peach. That actually means more than you know…"

"Each second explodes into the next! Sss-BAMMO!" Boomer interrupted. "Bombs away! Ssss-BOOM!"

Link grabbed Boomer, then walked toward the crack in the wall. "Had a feeling this was here for a reason…"

_. . ._

_He turned to Bombette. "Now let's work on getting us out of here."_

_Bombette then remembered she could be literally used as a bomb. As an example, she walked over to a large crack in the wall and blew herself up. The crack burst and revealed a hole where they could escape._

_Mario:…_

_"…Uh…" was all Link could mutter._

_"I guess I never thought about doing that before…" Bombette admitted. "I was so mad, I just blew up over and over in one place! Well, anyway, we can get out now right? So can everyone else! Now enough chit chat! I have a little score to settle with those Koopa Bros.!"_

_"Right in front of you!" Link laughed. Bombette chuckled too._

_"Heh, I get it. Come on Mario! Kooper! Let's go!"_

_. . ._

Link smiled at the memory again, placing Boomer in front of the crack and snapping his fingers to make him detonate quicker. There was obviously a hole in the wall, but no one could get through it…

…in 2-D, at least.

"Go do your thing!" Peach encourage. "I'll wait…"

Mario and Link gave a nod, then simultaneously throwing up their arms and flipping into 3-D. That way, they could easily slipped through hole and into a hidden room.

To their horror, it was a Watchitt card.

"What? …wait, does that mean we do more damage to Watchitt if we attack him?"

Mario smacked his forehead and headed back to Peach.

"What did I say THIS time?" Link cried. "Argh…"

"Sss-Boom!" boomed Boomer. Link blinked and had him float in his palm.

"You know…" he started, now that Mario and Peach were out of earshot. "…you remind me of an old friend."

"Really? I do? Sss-WOW!"

"Yeah…" he trailed with a sadder tone now. "Her name was Bombette. I haven't seen her in a long time…"

"What was her vibe like? Sss-KA-BOOM!"

"Always looking on the bright side of things…willing to do what she needed to do…a bit stubborn," Link explained. "Kinda like Peach now, actually…not that you know what a Soul Partner is, but she was mine. Almost like a little sister to me…"

Boomer pondered this for a bit while Link reminisced about Bombette again. He barely had a chance to start up the memory reel again, because Peach had -somehow- poked her head around the corner and saw Link staring blankly at the wall with Boomer in his hand.

"Um, Link…aren't you coming?"

"Whuzzut? Oh…yeah. Yeah. Be there in a sec."

Link swapped dimensions, ventured back through the hole in the wall, and reappeared right in front of Peach.

"What took you so long?"

"I was just thinking…" Link sighed, following Mario who was headed back out the pipe. Peach cocked her head.

"About what, may I ask?"

"…nothing you could understand…"

"What is THAT supposed to mean?"

Link shrugged. "It's just something you couldn't understand."

Peach frowned a bit- this was going to nag at her- but since there was really nothing she could do about it, she exited the room via the pipe as well.

. . .

"And for our next trick, it seems like we may need to go through these doors that seem to be everywhere…I wonder how many we'll see on our adventure?"

Mario groaned at the sight of the doors as well- how were they supposed to know which one to go through, or where they led, for that matter? Peach's solution was to check them all out, and Link jumped up onto a platform, blew up a few blocks that were in the way with Boomer, and gave them access to the four doors.

"Which one shall we enter first?" Peach mused.

Mario suggested the one to the far left, for no reason at all, but Link and Peach weren't about to argue. They entered, and with further inspection found that they were on the top floor of sorts, despite unable to tell if they were in a building or even underground. Those doors led to crazy places. The only thing occupying the floor as well was a Spiky Goomba, which Link dispatched quickly.

"Well, I doubt there's anything else here…" Peach started to leave until Link grabbed her arm.

"Not necessarily…"

Mario: When in doubt, flip about!

And so he did, along with Link, and together they found a bombable spot on the floor. Link placed Boomer down then snapped his fingers to make him detonate quicker. They fell through the new hole onto the second highest floor, where a blue switch was located. Peach, who hadn't seen what had happened due to being in 2-D, accidentally stepped through the hole, fell on Link, who had unintentionally shoved Mario into the switch.

"We have got to stop meeting like this," murmured Link, face in the floor.

"You could've told me that you blasted a hole in the floor before leaving me."

"Well excuuuuse me, Princess! …Peach."

Mario had activated the switch with the pressure of his body weight, causing a strange rumbling up above.

"That was awfully rumbly…something must've happened outside…" suggested Tippi.

"Ow…really Peach, get off."

"Oops! Sorry…"

Mario got off the floor as well, helping Link up, and pointed out another hole in the floor, considering there wasn't a door in that particular room. He and Link boldly took a dive down while Peach floated down delicately with her parasol. They exited through yet another red rainbow -trimmed star door, discovering that the rumbling sound must've been a red door with yellow trim that appeared.

"Isn't that just nifty!" Link huffed.

"I thought it was a blast! Sss-BANG!"

Link grinned. "I'm going to at least like him."

Mario rolled his eyes with a grin while Peach turned to Tippi.

"You're awfully quiet, aren't you?"

Tippi blinked and started to flutter off track. "What do you mean by that?"

"Well, you know just about everything there is to know…but you never say much besides that…"

Tippi was really sure how to respond. "Well…I…uh…I'm not really that good with memory-"

"What does that have to do with being quiet Tipps?" Link asked.

"I can't quite explain it…I just…I dunno…I feel like something is missing…of course, that's not an excuse not to talk, but…I find myself pondering it constantly. I suppose I get lost in thought unless one of you guys speaks up. I apologize if I haven't been much of a team player…"

"No, you've been doing great Tippi!" Peach beamed. "I just happened to notice you're the quiet type. Nothing bad, nothing bad at all…"

"Thank you, Peach. You're all very nice…how in this world do you all know each other, anyway?"

"I had a party several months ago- it's almost been an entire year!" Peach explained, also grinning just thinking about it. "I invited a few people from other worlds, and Mario, they all met there…and the next thing we knew, they were on a quest to save me, and I was trapped in a room with my best friends Zelda and Amy Rose…"

"Interesting way to meet…"

"Hey, an adventure is a great way to make friends!" blared Link, throwing an arm around Mario. "If it wasn't for that first adventure, Mario would've never joined the crew, let alone become the captain!"

Mario smiled broadly, but then noticed Peach fumbling with her watch and looking worried.

"Something Zelda had said…the watches only work at close range, right? Perhaps if we get close enough to someone, we can find them…but what are the odds we end up where some of the others ended up at? Someone could've been scattered in a world no one has ever heard of! I just hope I can pinpoint Amy…and see if Zelda is alright-"

"Peach, are you okay?" Link asked. "You kind of zonked out for a moment…"

"I did? I'm sorry…I was just thinking…"

"About what, may I ask?"

Peach shook her head and entered through the door. "…nothing you could understand…come, we'd better get going. No point in swimming in memories with a hole in the sky, now is there?"

What she never noticed -and what Mario and Link didn't notice as well- was that the screens on their watches were beginning to get a picture.

. . .

"I see the mansion!" Peach cheered excitedly, pointing at the conspicuous house in the background. Link hacked at a few lingering enemies, also marveling the house's decent size, as Mario went into 3-D, discovered hidden cavern, and located a Swooper and Shlurp card!

"All that mansion just for one charmer? Wow…"

"And there is the Star Block…" trailed Tippi, glancing beyond them.

"What's a Star Block?" asked Peach curiously.

"It's a…well, we're not really sure. In my opinion, I think just gets us ready for the next leg of the adventure…so once we hit it, we'll be climbing those hills up to Merlee's!"

"I don't understand, but that's fine…go ahead and hit it Mario! I can't wait to meet Merlee!"

Once Mario returned, he had heard Peach's request, and not missing another beat, hit the Star Block. With a sparkle in her eyes, Peach led the way up to Merlee's Mansion.

. . .

On the far side of a beast-ridden swamp, Mario and co. found an imposing residence.

"This must be Merlee's Mansion!" Peach squealed with glee.

If the friends could only find the Pure Heart quickly, their quest here would end. But when has fate ever set Mario on such a simple path? Brimming with anticipation, our plucky heroes plunged into Merlee's Mansion…


	12. Tricks, Treats, Traps

Super Paper Mario X

Chapter 11: Tricks, Treats, Traps

After thoroughly investigating a hedge to the side of the mansion and collecting several coins, Mario, Link, Peach, and their respective Pixls all stared up at Merlee's Mansion.

"Hopefully she won't be too difficult to find…" Peach mused, not knowing how wrong she was.

"One can hope…" Link shrugged. "So, uh, do we just stroll through the front door?"

"I think we should at least take a look around," Peach said as she already started walking to the other side of the mansion. "We may find something useful!"

"Well we're not going in without you!" Link called back, standing in front of the stairs. "Don't take TOO long!"

"Aren't you an "adventurer extraordinaire" or something?" Tippi questioned. Mario snorted in the background. "Shouldn't you be all about the hunting for goods?"

"Listen, I save my skills for butt-kicking and princess saving, not scavenger hunts. I only track down items if I need them for survival, like Jelly Ultraz."

While they were engaged in the puny and stupid problem, Peach poked around the mansion, eventually bumping her head on an invisible block that held a ladder, which began to materialize. Peach sent a smirk that went unnoticed in Link's direction, then jumped up and began to climb to a secret platform.

"-which is why the tunic is this _epic shade_ of GREEN-"

"Hey, what's that crackling noise?" Tippi interrupted, twitching at the disturbance. Link gave her a pouting glare as Mario lifted up his wrist and nearly fainted.

There was an incoming picture and a faint voice!

He rapidly tugged on Link and frantically pointed at his watch.

"Dude what's up- hey, my watch is actually doing something…"

They both held their devices closer to their faces, hoping to hear and see better. The image was still quite fuzzy due to the dimensional interference they had been exposed to, but the sound was quite clear.

"What IS this thing…get away from me! OW!"

Link cringed. "Well THAT certainly is a shrill voice…"

"Let me go…let go of my leg! AUGH!"

"It sounds like a girl is getting maimed!" cried Thoreau, receiving perplexing looks afterward. "…what?"

The picture started getting clearer- a green dog-like thing was definitely visible, but what it was gnawing on was not. It was something reddish, that was for sure.

"…is this thing dragging me out the DOOR?"

"Did she just say door-"

"WAH!"

The scream seemed to be more real than from the watch, and in a completely unexpected fashion, the green dog-thing had chucked its pray right out the door. She flew over in a blur of pink, crashing into the by-standing Mario and Link.

"I swear, I'm like a chick magnet…always getting plowed by females…" Link grumbled. "What time number is this?"

Mario ignored Link's ranting to see just who had collided into them- and to his surprise, it was none other than Amy Rose. She groaned from her abrupt tossing and landing, Mario standing up and helping her up as well.

"Oh sure don't help me Mario…"

Mario sighed at Link, and then asked Amy if she was all right. Groggily, the discombobulated girl glanced up at Mario and nodded.

"Yes, I'm fine Mario. Just a bit shaken up…I wasn't expecting to be grabbed by the leg and tossed out the-**_MARIO?_** What in this world are YOU doing here? And Link too?"

"Oh my goodness, what was THAT?" Peach gaped, now standing on an upper balcony with a Cursya card and a Stopwatch. She quickly floated down with her awesome parasol and landed softly on the ground.

"What's going on? I heard a scream and- _Amy!_ You're all right!"

Amy whirled around to see who called her name one moment and within the next plowed into Peach with a hug…again.

"Peach! You're all right! Again!"

"Yes, a fall from the sky does rattle the nerves a bit, but I'm okay! How do you think we got separated anyway?"

"I have no idea!" Amy cried. "We were even hanging onto each other and we both disappeared in that white box- good Chaos, Peach, what about ZELDA-"

"Amy!" Peach lurched, slamming her palms onto Amy's muzzle before she ranted on about their missing team member. They both snuck a glance at Link, who shifted uncomfortably.

"Does he at least know what happened?" Amy asked in a whisper. Peach nodded.

"Of course I told him that…right after they found me in Flipside."

"Flipside? Where's that?"

"The center of all dimensions!" Tippi explained. "Wow…it seems like everywhere we go, we find some friend of Mario's…"

"We weren't scattered too far from each other, I will admit that," Peach shrugged. "Hopefully there are others close by or in the next world-"

"That's why I'm here!" Amy giggled. "I landed somewhere in the swamp, and I heard from a prison guy in an area behind a rainbow door that a blue hedgehog had entered the mansion, so it was only obvious I followed but when I tried to get in I got thrown out as you saw and-"

"Amy!" cried Link, Peach, AND Mario.

"Slow down girl, what happened?" Link asked.

"She said that she was following Sonic into the mansion!" Peach gasped. "That means he's here!"

"Are you sure she's not hallucinating or something?"

Amy snapped, "Of course I'm not! I'd know my Sonic anywhere!"

"Oh yeah? I've heard you mistook Shadow and Silver for Sonic as well, and once when it really WAS Sonic you-"

"Okay, okay, I see the point, Link. But really, I know it's him! Please, trust me!"

"We need to get in the mansion anyway…" Tippi trailed. "Um, what do you think Mario?"

Mario was on the verge of fainting from the overload of the situation. All this scatter-search-and-finding was too much for one plumber to take all in at once. Link and Peach practically spewed out what they could of the issue all at once, talking fast and practically slurring stories. Amy pushed through them and walked up to Mario calmly.

"I have no idea what happened, to be honest…Peach and I were fearfully looking over the edge of wherever we were, waiting to be hypnotized by Nastasia. We were hanging onto each other like our lives depended on it when a white box suddenly teleported us. Peach landed wherever she met up with you two, and I ended up in Gloam Valley, where I learned is where Sonic must've arrived in the first place. Does that help a bit?"

Mario smiled and nodded, now getting way better of an understanding than what Link and Peach whipped up. Amy smiled as well before turning to Peach.

"So, what are you guys up to?"

"We're looking for Merlee, who lives in this mansion, so we can get one of eight Pure Hearts to create the Purity Heart and blow up the Chaos Heart that Peach and Bowser created along with the Void in the sky," Link explained.

"There's quite the back-story to all of this as well…" Peach sighed. "Finding you here was just pure luck."

"Perhaps it was fate…you know, like someone purposely put me, and maybe even Sonic, here just because it would help us rejoin?"

Peach shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not, but there's nothing we can really do on that subject. I'm just glad you're safe."

Amy frowned. "I only hope Zelda is as well…did she land somewhere, or is she floating forever in that…purple blackness?"

Peach cringed as Link winced.

"Oops! I…uh…sorry Link…"

"It's fine, you have reason to think that…" he said, feeling a bit faint. Mario had to hold him up.

"I'm _very_ sure that she teleported _before_ she met her doom, however," Peach pointed out, giving a sweat dropping Amy a warning glance. "That's my theory."

"Can we please enter the mansion already?" Link intervened, trying to delicately change the subject before he would burst into a panic. "I mean, if there's that green dog-thing blocking the front door, maybe the window-"

"Nope, we can only get in through the front door. I managed to get past the monsters, but there was no one there, plus I didn't see anyway to get deeper in the mansion, which makes no sense because the place is HUGE!" Amy exclaimed.

"Well, we came here for a reason, so we might as well follow through…" Tippi murmured.

"Yeah, let's go!" Amy agreed. She and Peach exchanged a high-five as Link did a double take.

"You're coming with us?"

"Yes! I just found you guys again, I'm not taking a risk getting lost again, I want to help save the worlds too, and most importantly, I am positive that Sonic is somewhere in that mansion and I am going to find him!"

Mario: S'all right with me!

Link held up his hands. "Whoa, easy, it's fine with me as well. I just remember my adventures being a little less…pink. And female."

"Well don't think just because I'm a girl I can't do anything," huffed Amy. She pulled out her hammer and struck a pose. "I'm not gonna hold back!"

"I never did catch you name…what is it, pray tell?" Tippi asked.

"Even though it's been shouted several times, my name is Amy Rose! I'm the third member of Team Z.A.P! Though, technically I'm the second member in this case…"

"Nice to meet you! You are one of Peach's friends, correct?"

"Yup!"

"The best!" Peach added with a small grin. Link then struck a dramatic stance.

"Amy has joined the team! With her hammer, she can pound things with ease! Also, when Team Z.A.P. takes control, she will twirl her hammer above her head and float straight over gaps (unlike Peach, who floats downwards). She can curl into a small hedgehog ball as well, rendering any attacks upon her ineffective! Her battle ability is being an excellent appealer, gaining more experience for the team."

"…thanks for the into, Link."

"I didn't get one."

"Sorry Peach… Ahem, anyway… Now, onward, at long last, my friends?"

Mario: Oh yes!

Finally, after all the clarification, the new team entered Merlee's Mansion. Just like the image the watch displayed, the mansion itself seemed completely dull compared to the cheery outlook of the valley…and the chomping Gnips waiting to chew them out didn't add to the flair either.

"They're indestructible!" Link yelped, banging one on the head with his sword while Mario attempted to jump on the other.

"I thought I told you- you can't kill them. Trust me, I've tried," Amy informed. "Watch."

She jumped on the first one's head, then twirled her hammer above her head to float over them both and out of their reach. Peach caught on and performed the same maneuver.

"Well Mario and I don't have the ability to float!" Link huffed. Mario nudged Link, gave him a wink, and prepared to raised his hands. "…but we can do something you can't!"

"And what is that?" asked Amy, hands on her hips.

"Now you see us…" Link chuckled. "…now you don't!"

To Amy and Peach, they completely vanished, but Peach knew they were just walking around the Gnips in the third dimension. Amy, on the other hand, who wasn't as knowledgeable as Peach, instantly panicked.

"Oh gosh, where'd THEY go? They went…poof!"

"We are here," Link called out, flipping back to 2-D right in front of Amy. She yelped and jumped a few paces back, eyes gaping.

"What the heck did you just do?"

"Mario and I have the ability to teleport into the third dimension, and in that third dimension we discovered there's a door that you can't see in 2-D, which we are currently in," he explained. All traces of confusion vanished from Amy's expression.

"3-D…yeah, that actually sounds familiar! I think Sonic once said he was able to do that too…" she pondered.

"Really…" mused Tippi. "Interesting…"

Amy blinked and cocked her head as Tippi mumbled to herself. "Uh…what's up with her?"

"She likes to ponder…" Peach replied.

"Didn't she say people who could teleport were the legendary heroes?" Link asked. "Which is why Mario and I were easily matched in the Light Prognosticus. Perhaps she believes Sonic is one as well?"

"Yes…that is exactly what I am thinking…" Tippi stated. "but…now I am wondering about Peach and Amy as well. Uh…it's nothing all that important anyway- please, the Pure Heart calls…"

Peach gave a small shrug, Link and Amy just stared at how easily Tippi could bounce all over the place without being erratic, and Mario took control, went into 3-D, and entered the door the girls were unable to access.

. . .

"…how did we end up here?" Amy asked, unsure of what just happened.

"You ask a lotta questions…" Thoreau noted.

"We're not sure, Amy, but it works so we don't question it!" Peach hummed lightheartedly.

"Well hi there!" a high-pitched female voice rang out in the new room there had entered, startling all four of them and the Pixls. "Big welcome! Welcome to Merlee's Mansion!"

It was a girl in a maid's outfit, who did a small curtsey upon seeing her guests. Link twitched the slightest bit at her appearance, as if she was someone he had met before, but for whatever reason couldn't quite put his finger on it. Peach and Amy thought she was just the sweetest thing while Mario found the whole thing downright suspicious.

"I'm Lady Merlee's handmaid. My name's Mimi! But you can call me Mimikins if you want! You're here to see Lady Merlee, aren't you?"

Mario nodded slowly, not liking the way she talked. Link, meanwhile, was going crazy by the fact that there was something about her that he couldn't figure out.

"How super for you! Well, Lady Merlee is on the second floor, in the farthest room. Just head on up there whenever you're ready! Oh, golly, but listen… DON'T YOU DARE GO INTO ANY OTHER ROOMS BY ACCIDENT, OR ELSE! Enjoy your visit ok?"

Everyone: O.O;

"…do I know you?" Link asked, blinking. "I swear I do…but maybe I don't and I'm thinking of someone else or something."

"Nope, I don't believe we've met before!" Mimi giggled. "Golly, I guess I should be honored if I look like someone you know…"

"That's the thing- I dunno if that's a good thing or a bad thing…"

An odd gleam danced across Mimi's eyes, but it was obvious that only Mario caught it.

"Not sure what to tell you…but you'd better head up to that second floor! Lady Merlee is waiting!"

"Oh, uh, right…sorry if I wasted your time, I could've sworn I've seen you before…"

"Not a problem, hee hee!"

"Well, she certainly seems nice!" Amy exclaimed as the group turned to head on up to the second floor.

"Yes, yes she does…" mused Peach.

"I swear I know her, but I can't quite think of it…" Link groaned, grabbing his head.

Mario simply didn't trust her in the slightest.

. . .

"Merlee? Hello…" Peach called softly as the door creaked open. "We came looking for a Pure Heart?"

"It's an empty room…" Tippi mused.

"Well that's plain to see! Or not see…" added Link.

"Do you sense any hidden doors or anything?"

"No I don't Peach…it's just a room…"

"Hey, what's that over there on the other side of the room?" Amy pondered, pointing over to the opposite wall. Link leaned forward while squinting his eyes.

"Looks like a button! Let's check it out!"

Mario: Wait-

Link and the girls instantly bolted for the other side of the room, eager to check out the find.

"Maybe it's a buzzer that pages Merlee!" suggested Amy excitedly. "Ooh! Perhaps she'll appear in a mystic blue smoke or something!"

"Maybe it's a secret passage like in my castle that leads to Merlee!" Peach guessed. "That would be quite interesting as well…"

Before Mario could even get in his two cents, Link went and pounded his fist on the button. Bars blocked off the windows with a sharp scraping sound, and a deathly rumbling was heard up above. Everyone froze before slowly looking up to see a bed of spikes set to impale them.

"…maybe it's like the spike room in Hooktail Castle!" squeaked Link, already making way for the door. "Run for your lives!"

"**You** pressed the button!" shouted Peach and Amy.

"You_ persuaded_ me to press the button!"

Mario: You all should've just stayed AWAY from the button!

Ignoring Mario's totally true statement, they all scrambled out the door. There really wasn't any need to hurry though- the spikes were falling quite slowly.

. . .

"Okay, what in the world was THAT!" Amy panted. "Did that look like a charmer? No, that looks like death on our doorstep!"

"That maid said she was in there though…" Peach pointed out.

"Perhaps she was LYING!" Thoreau input, and Mario could've sworn lightning struck somewhere.

"Maybe she just got the rooms mixed up?" shrugged Peach, trying to stay optimistic.

"We can't exactly check the rooms though- she said not to go into any other rooms," pouted Amy.

"Do we have a choice?"

Mario was still thinking about why in the world there was a set of spikes even in that room as the rest of the team thought over what to do next. In his own opinion, the mere fact that the trap was even there was somewhat of a red flag to him.

"…look, we just sneak into another room unnoticed, we'll find Merlee, and that Mimi chick will see that she made a mistake, if she did," Link deduced. "Merlee could've just as easily swapped rooms and Mimi didn't know about it."

"So many scenarios…" trailed Thoreau. "Which one could possibly be possible?"

"Shush, you. Everyone okay with the plan?"

"All right…" sighed Peach.

"Fine with me," said Amy.

Mario was wondering since when did Link get to make the choice? Especially after pushing the button.

...At the same time, what else could they do? The plumber gave Link a nod in agreement as well, followed by climbing back down to the first floor. He at least figured if Merlee was in another room, it would be on the first floor.

"Whoa…what's that?"

"What's what?"

"That unavoidable giant monster over there!"

Everyone glanced beyond the first floor's first door- chained up to the second door was a giant Gnaw, pacing back and forth rather furious.

"Wh-what do we do with th-that?" Amy stammered.

"I don't think it can reach us…plus I don't think we'd be able to defeat it anyway…" Tippi announced.

"Good point- let's just not mess with it…" Link trailed, already gripping the door knob.

When they entered the closest room on the first floor, Link just about cheered when he saw a Mushroom on the floor.

"And I think it's a solid one too- meaning I can collect it and eat it when I want instead of those nasty Shroom Shakes! C'mere!"

Mario didn't even bother trying to stop Link- there was no pulling him away from a Shroom. However, something was awfully fishy about a random Shroom sitting in the middle of the floor…

…especially when there was a string attached.

"Uh, Link?" Peach questioned, seeing the Mushroom slowly being pulled away from him as he trotted closer to it.

"Don't you find that a tad suspicious?" Amy asked.

"It's a Shroom- what could possibly be wrooo-OOOONG!"

Link had followed the mushroom right over a hidden hole in the floor, causing Link to cluelessly fall through. A loud thud followed after, and Mario, Peach, and Amy leaned over the edge of the hole to see if he was okay. To their surprise, he and Boomer were just fine, but apparently the trap hadn't been used in so long it had accumulated a trio of Boos- which were blocking the switch to get out of there.

"EEk! How do you kill a Boo, Mario?" Amy gasped, seeing them go on a rampage when Link's back was turned.

Mario: TURN AROUND!

"Whut?" Link spun around in his heel to face the Boos, who were shamefully hiding their faces and hoping to not be seen. He swung his sword at them, but due to them being transparent it didn't really help. "Well that's not fair…"

"How do you get rid of them?" Amy asked again. Mario wasn't all too sure himself- Boo Dispatching could be quite tricky. He told the girls to stay up there while he jumped down to assist Link.

"Decided to join the party, huh?" Link smirked, only to be bitten by a Boo. "YARGH! Get it off! OW!"

While that Boo was distracted with gnawing on Link, Mario ran around behind it before jumping on it twice, causing it to disappear in a puff of smoke.

"Good job Mario!" Peach cheered.

"So THAT'S how you do it!" giggled Amy.

Link tried to coolly play it off. "Aw, it was no big deal…it couldn't chew through all this manly muscle anyway!"

Mario gave Link a long look.

"…I was just kidding! Sheesh…thanks man! Now let's get rid of the rest!"

Mario's expression broke into a lighter one as he ran in front of a Boo and turned around, allowing Link to run behind it undetected. He jumped up and brought his sword down on it, turning that one into smoke as well.

"One more!" the girls chimed.

"I want to help…" pouted Amy.

"We'll get our chance soon enough Ames," Peach replied, clenching a fist and smiling confidently. "Besides, don't be jealous of them simply taking out small time enemies…"

Amy nodded eagerly, just as Mario and Link took out the last Boo. Link then placed Boomer by the switch, he and Mario ran over to the other side of the room, heard the explosion, which briefly allowed an escape pipe to be revealed to them. They popped up right next to Peach and Amy, then all four of them quickly evacuated the room.

"Maybe that's why Mimi didn't want us going in there by accident…" huffed Amy, leaning against the door. Link glanced over to the right, where the giant purple monster was pacing, still chained up to the door.

"I do wonder why that thing is chained up…and why it's chained to THAT particular door…"

"Well it doesn't help that we don't have a key to unlock it,"stated Peach.

"Why would we?" squeaked Amy. "If we unchain it, it might attack!"

"Still…" Link mumbled, not taking his eyes off the lock. There wasn't much they could do without a key, so mulling over what could be was pretty pointless. Mario, however, was mulling over more important matters- the first room they entered had spikes trying to kill them, and the second room had a Shroom trap. Double creepy…would it be farfetched to think that maybe the other rooms had tricks as well?

Mario glared at Mimi, who seemed not to notice their sneaking around, as they ventured back up to the second floor, willing to try another door. They shrugged decided to take the first one on the second floor.

"Merlee? Are you in this room?" Amy called as Mario pushed open the door. Peach frowned.

"No, this one's just as empty…"

"Except there's another Shroom!" Link cried out happily, pointing to the not-at-all suspicious Shroom hanging down from the ceiling. Peach, Amy, and Mario all raised eyebrows.

"Um…haven't you learned your lesson from the last trap?" Tippi asked.

"Who says that this one is a trap?"

"There is a mushroom dangling from the ceiling. You think that's safe?" Peach replied bluntly. Link made a face, turned heel, and pouted out the door.

"Hmph, fine…"

"Not to mention we're only finding traps and not Merlee…" sighed Amy. "Something is definitely up, but I don't know what."

Mario had to agree with that. He headed out the door again, peeking around the corner to see Mimi dusting a random picture, seemingly unaware of their actions and snooping. Hoping that Merlee was in the final door they hadn't checked yet, they entered the middle room on the second floor.

Was it Merlee behind that door? Of course not. Just a bunch of coins…that Amy apparently thought needed to be collected.

"Man, that girl sure has some bright vibes! Sss-POW!" cried Boomer. Link gave the Pixl a look before whirling around to call to Amy.

"HEY! If I can't go after the objects in the room then neither can you!"

"It's just coins- only greedy people collect coins that lead into a trap!"

"…then what are YOU doing?"

Amy shrugged, slowly making her way up the steps, collecting the coins one by one. "Greedy and needy are two different things. Have you seen our coin count?"

"We never buy things though!" Link shot back. "Unless it's an emergency."

Amy just ignored Link and kept on collecting. Peach cringed while Mario was definitely sure something bad was bound to happen.

And sure enough, after Amy accumulated a decent amount of cash, the floor opened, disclosing another trap. Amy's high-pitched yelp rang throughout the entire mansion-

-even Mimi could hear it.

She smirked.

Meamwhile, back in that room, Peach was on the verge of yelling as loud as Amy did while Link belted out with, "I TOLD you!"

Peach bopped him on the head.

"And to think of what would have happened to_ you _if you had went for the Shroom in the last room!"

Mario didn't bother watching them debate and instead cafefully headed over to the trap to see if he could see Amy. Luckily, she had managed to save herself by twirling her hammer over her head.

"That was pretty close, huh?" she gaped, hovering in the air. Mario nodded and stepped out of the way so she could land. Once Amy was back on the ground she put her hammer away and folded her arms. "This is the last room! Which means we've got a problem. we've been everywhere, we've nearly died each time, probably the correct door is being guarded by that purple thing and locked, we lack a key, and we have no idea where to hunt for it."

Mario: She's good.

She whirled around to a still bickering Peach and Link, whipping out her hammer again within the same move and slamming it onto the ground. Mario was now even more impressed. He would have done the same- but luck would have it, he didn't have a hammer on him.

"Knock it off! We're going to find this Merlee person and Sonic even if it kills us!"

"Must you be so literal?" Link cringed. Amy blinked.

"It's an expression…"

"Either way. Amy is right," Peach stated, glancing at Link. "We've really got to get moving…"

"My thoughts exactly," threw in Tippi.

"Got any tips, Tipps?"

"Wh-what?"

Link shrugged. "Well, we've hit a dead end, and usually you're the one with all the knowledge about everything there is to know…"

"That doesn't mean I always have the answer…"

"We don't have them either…" Amy sighed.

"Perhaps you overlooked something?"

"What could we have possibly overlooked?" questioned Peach.

Mario put a hand to his chin as he tried to think the problem through. What Tippi said may have been possible…more possible than Link's scenarios of why Merlee wasn't in any of the rooms. The latest three rooms didn't have much to offer, but the spike room…they had hightailed it out of there so fast, maybe they DID miss something.

With nothing to lose, Mario pointed back to the door on the far right on the second floor and headed toward it.

"Hm? You want to go back in there Mario?"

Mario: Uh-huh!

"But that's where all the spikes are!" piped Amy.

"As long as that button isn't pressed we should be fine," Peach replied, glaring at Link.

"You _persuaded_ me to push it-"

"Don't start that again…" groaned Tippi.

Mario, however, had other ideas. He ushered them all into the room, then ran down to the side with the button.

He pushed it.

"What are you _doing_, Mario?" Peach yelped as Link made tracks for the door.

Mario: WAIT!

Everyone froze in place, waiting to see what Mario was about to do next. Strangely, he did nothing.

"Um, Mario…spikes are about to kill us. We should go," Link stated obviously. Mario shook his head and pointed upwards. The rest of the group turned their gazes upward. Yes, there was the spikes falling, set to crush them…but there was also a secret upper area that was apparently unreachable, but nevertheless most likely held something of value.

The question was, how would they get up there?

Mario threw his arms over his head, taking control and transporting himself and Link into 3-D. Upon entering the other dimension, they realized they could easily jump onto the top of the spike trap, which would then take them up to the hidden area when it was reset. Link prepared to jump up, but Mario shook his head and leapt onto it himself. He instructed Link to stay safe in 3-D, only to return back to 2-D when the spikes were out of the way. Link and Peach would stay below just in case, while Mario and Amy would head on up.

"How come you two get to go?"

Mario: You'll see…

Link pouted as Mario returned to 2-D, Amy magically appearing beside him.

"I have to admit, that is really cool, even though I have no idea what it is."

Mario gave a small smile, both of them glancing over the edge of the trap to see Link and Peach return to 2-D once the spikes were high enough. All that was needed to be done now was explore the mysterious top part of the room. When the trap was fully reset, the duo jumped up onto a platform, seeing the rest of the upper beams.

"Are you ready Mario?" Amy giggled. "I can finally show you what I've got!"

Mario made a gesture for her to go for it. Amy tossed up her hammer, taking control, and hovered over the small gap that neither of them could simply jump over. Then once she was on solid footing, Amy swung her hammer into a wall of breakable blocks, clearing some of the path. Mario then took control, flipping into 3-D and working his way around an unbreakable rock wall. Apparently, in reality, the beams were somewhat zigzagged instead of being perfectly straight forward.

"Hey! Do you guys need Boomer?" Link called up, seeing another set of blocks in the way.

"No thanks Link!" Amy yelled back, smashing the next set into smithereens. "I've got it all under control!"

Mario gave her a thumbs up as he regained control once again to avoid yet another solid brick wall. As soon as he was by, he and Amy both climbed up to probably the highest point in the room, where a single treasure chest was placed. Amy eagerly kicked it open and pulled out the long-sought- after key!

"Hey, we were right about the key!" Amy exclaimed, giving Mario a highfive. "Yeah!"

"Did you guys find something?" Peach shouted up.

"We found the key! Be back down in a second!"

Mario took a daring leap off the edge, whereas Amy began to twirl her hammer over her head once more, carefully lowering herself back to the bottom. They both touched down onto the ground at the same time, Amy producing the key to show to Link and Peach as pure proof.

"Way to go, guys!" cheered Link.

"Good thinking Mario! And nice work Amy!" Peach praised.

"It was nothing," Amy shrugged. "Now let's finally get out of here and find Merlee!"

Mario: Oh yeah!

**First Floor, Door with the lock-**

They had maneuvered quite excellently around the giant Gnaw, although it seemed like the creature wasn't even interested in them. Mario obtained the key from Amy, jammed it in the lock, and not only unlocked the final door, but set the monster free as well.

"Grrr-WARGH!"

It instantly charged at Mimi, who started screaming and dashing around in circles.

"EEeeEEEEk!"

The beast kept trying to take a nip out of her but her speed seemed to outmatch his jawing muscle.

"I wonder why that savage thing went straight for her and paid us no mind…" Tippi wondered aloud. "I'd like to think we look rather tasty…what do you suppose it means?"

Mario cocked his head.

"This mansion is quite odd…I feel certain it holds many secrets…"

"Perhaps it went after her because she was the one who chained it up in the first place?" suggested Peach as they entered the newly accessible door. "I know that's what I'd do!"

"Maybe that maid gives off a BAD vibe!" cried Boomer. "She certainly does to me!"

"What do you think, Mario?" Amy asked. Mario just shook his head and approached the Star block- one that he never thought he'd be so glad to see. If he was that monster he'd probably chase after that girl as well.

"I still can't shake the feeling I've seen her before…" Link shivered. "So creepy…"

"The only way for us to move forward and find out what we need to know is to find Merlee," Peach stated firmly, nodding to Mario to hit the block. He did- and they began to head into the next part of the mansion.

. . .

Mario and friends kept up their search, delving ever deeper into the mansion. Wherever they looked though, they found no sign of Merlee. Where was this mysterious woman?

"Ah…maybe this way…" so said Tippi, trying to sense the Pure Heart's location. With dread hanging like a broken chandelier, our heroes hurried through the corridors…


	13. Breaking the Bank

Super Paper Mario X

Chapter 12: Breaking the Bank

"Well…what's here?" Amy questioned upon reaching the next section of the mansion. They had searched several other parts, but Merlee was not to be found.

"There's a ? Block…" Link pointed out, motioning to the oddly placed cube. "I'll hit it! I hope a Zombie Shroom doesn't emerge…"

Unfortunately for Link, he didn't notice the not-at-all expensive-looking vase sitting on top of the block.

So when he hit it, naturally the vase bounced off and it shattered. What a way to start off the next leg of their journey.

"Augh! Link! That was a beautiful vase and now it's in pieces!" yelped Peach, covering up her shocked gasp. Link went slack jawed.

"It was probably bought at a dollar store! Besides, it didn't look all that great anyway…"

"Still, that had to be owned by someone…" moaned Tippi. Mario then heard a door creak open, followed by a distressed high-pitched wail. Everyone glanced over their shoulders to see none other than Maid Mimi running up like someone had just died.

"You broke it! You broke my most favoritest vase! DOOFUSES! I loved that vase more than anything! And you BROKE it! NYAAAAAGH!"

"If you really loved it, it wouldn't be perched on a block born for bashing!" protested Link. "And why is it always _me_ that screws up? I remember this one time I stepped on a chef's contact and she gave me a black eye-"

"Oh, you'll pay for that, yes you will…" Mimi's anger cut him off, her expression almost snarling. "I'll have you know that the vase cost 1,000,000 Rubees…"

Mimi jumped in front of everyone, causing them to cringe in fear. "So hand over that money! Now! Or you're DONE FOR!"

"Jeez, I don't even have that much in Rupees!" Link guffawed.

"That's insane!" exclaimed Peach.

"I know! Who would waste so much money on a vase?" Amy sighed, shaking her head.

"That is _not_ what I meant…"

"I dunno, I do have to agree," shrugged Link.

"Either way…" Tippi cut in, focusing on the situation at hand. "Rubees? Oh, I don't believe any of us carry any of that particular currency…I don't suppose those are anything like coins, are they?"

Mimi appeared stunned. "Coins? No one uses COINS anymore, you peasants! I SPIT on your coins!"

"They sound kind of like Rupees…but I don't have enough either, like I said," Link stated.

"…so what are you saying? Are you telling me that you don't have any Rubees at all?" Mimi concluded, sternly staring at the slowly-nodding group. "Well, guess what? You're just gonna have to work it off then! Until you work off your debt, you naughty little things, I OWN YOU! ENJOY LABOR!"

"So much for cute little maid girl…" gulped Peach.

Within seconds Mimi returned to being her "extra sweet normal self". "Yes, so, you can earn Rubees in the generator room on the top floor. Once you earn 1,000,000 Rubees, you can come pay it off at the room in the back. You can also check the balance of your debt there. So! Get to work, _servants!"_

As she skipped away, the crew just stood there in disbelief.

"I don't think she was kidding, either…" gaped Amy. "We have to work off a million Rubees? Mercy…"

"In that case we'd better head up to the top floor…" sighed Peach, her parasol balancing delicately on her shoulder.

"This delays our time to search for the Pure Heart greatly…" Tippi murmured.

"Hey, this actually may give us time to recuperate." Link decided. "Give us time to make some sort of game plan and a sort of break, you know?"

"Link…we only have two Pure Hearts, and the Void grows as we speak…there really isn't time to waste."

"I know that, but what else can we do? We're trapped in the mansion thanks to that weird Mimi chick…"

"And Merlee is still somewhere in here- she has to be!" Peach added determinedly.

Mario was naturally silent during all of this, lost in his own thoughts. Now there was no doubt something odd was up with Mimi. Plus the fact Link kept rambling on about how he thought he knew her- perhaps they did meet before, and something caused him to lose his memory? If that was the case, then someone would just simply need to remind him…but the problem was, did anyone even know the story behind them?

"Mario? Mario! You zonked out!" Link's voice rang out as Peach's gloved hand waved in front of his face. Mario blinked several times, and then shook his head to snap back into reality.

"That was weird…what were you thinking so intently about?" asked Amy.

Mario waved it off and pointed upward- if they ever wanted to get out of here, they had better get started from somewhere. They jumped on up to the second floor and climbed to the third, where a guy wearing a red and white striped jail suit was stalking around the hall.

"I came to get my romantic fortune read, OK?" he suddenly announced out of nowhere. "Y'know, to see the future for me and my gal. But I never met Merlee! And now I'll never see my sweetie again…CRUEL FATE!"

Link gave him a long, dreaded look until Peach and Amy quickly grabbed his arms and slowly dragged him toward the generator room.

"He just _had_ to say that!" he wailed, voice lurching.

"There, there, Link…"

"Poor guy…"

Mario stayed back for a moment, frowning at Link. It was hard not to feel sorry for him…and what impressed Mario was that he was able to suppress his problems (mostly) and focus on the quest (mostly), and not letting him get discouraged TOO much. Shoot, if Mario was in Link's position, the plumber didn't even know if he'd be motivated enough to try and save the day. Link deserved more credit than he got, really. Amidst his musings, Mario caught sight of a number pad type lock beside the door the jail guy was standing next to. Something of interest must've been behind there…but since Mario lacked the code needed to enter, he followed the ground into the generator room.

. . .

"Ugh! It STINKS in here!" gagged Amy as she instantly grabbed her nose.

"JUMP, LITTLE FLEES!" a macho voice boomed out, rising over Amy's disgusted shriek. Several prisoners, similar to the one that was mulling in the hallway, were jumping under spark boxes. With each hit of the box, one tiny bolt of power would be shot up into the ceiling, charging the power for the entire mansion. For each hit of the box, a prisoner would earn one Rubee.

"Work those skinny little flea legs!" shouted the overseer, whipping his whip for emphasis. "Unh! Make it burn! Jump like you mean it! Boss Mimi hates the dark like she hates brussel sprouts! SO WORK IT! MOOOORE POWER!"

"This is absolutely heinous!" Peach cried. "No wonder no one ever gets out of here! All that labor for one Rubee per jump! Criminal!"

"Can you imagine jumping a million times?" Thoreau threw in, his little Pixl eyes widening to full capacity.

"Oh my…" murmured Tippi.

"Well…if all four of us jump at the same time, we can divide up the work," Link suggested wearily.

"The sound of each of us jumping 250,000 times isn't very soothing either…" Amy moaned, unsure if she could handle such a task.

"I get the feeling we're going to have if we ever want to get that Pure Heart…" Tippi sighed as Mario went to talk to the overseer.

"To ever get the Pure Heart? Psh, we have to if we ever want to get out of here!" yelped Link.

"And before the Void devours everything," pointed out Peach.

"I sense negative vibes…" droned Boomer randomly.

Mario carefully tapped the man on the shoulder, ducking when his whip went soaring over his head and just missed knocking his precious cap off.

"Yeah, this is the generator room. Hit blocks, make energy, earn Rubees! Unh! Rubees make the world go up and down, 'round and 'round! You wanna work here too?"

Mario: Sure.

"We really don't have a choice…" Peach trembled.

"Unh! LOVE the unused energy kids! Just find and used block, then jump like you mean it! Another day, another Rubee! Unh! Rubees are life! Unh! Jump! Rubee! Jump! Rubee!"

"The same thing…over and over?" Link groaned. "Did you HAVE to say it like THAT?"

"Sonic would hate that…" Amy murmured under her breath, rethinking about that particular person. He probably wasn't here after all. Which a good thing, Amy supposed. He wouldn't be trapped in this dreaded place, doing this practically pointless labor…

"When you're done jumping, come talk to me. I'll tell you how many Rubees you earned. Oh! And watch out for out "motivation sparks" that travel along the floor!"

Everyone turned to the floor, where a purple spark made its way across. Several slaves jumped over it like it was routine, but one unfortunate soul ended up jumping onto it and letting out a wail as he was electrocuted. Peach's eyes could not have been any wider.

"Asinine!"

The four just stood around, slightly exchanging glances at each other, but none of them moved.

"Well?" hissed the overseer, raising his whip over his head. "Jump to it! …heh."

Mario could tell he would have to go first if he wanted the others to do anything, so he stepped onto the floor under the first empty block and began to jump. Then Peach stepped up, took a block next to Mario, and jumped as well. Amy followed, trailed by Link, and soon enough they were all chiming in on the community service.

It was so boring.

"Ugh…oh man…how much longer...do we have to do this?" Link wheezed, already appearing highly exhausted.

"Link, you've only jumped three times."

"…no need to point out the obvious, Peach."

Peach just sighed as she hopped over the spark. "Well, we're going to be here for awhile…"

"Where's the 'recuperation' you spoke of, Link?" grumbled Amy who was not thrilled in the slightest.

"Since we're stuck here, we might as well talk about what's going on…" Link offered. "It'll at least pass the time some."

"Ow. My head…" moaned a slave jumping next to them. "So…many…bashes…"

"What's there to talk about?" Peach asked, facing Link. "We must travel across several dimensions, with one Pure Heart leading to the next. We're not doing all that well since we only have two…"

"I was sort of more or less referring to…you know, everyone else," Link admitted. "Besides Sonic and…Zelda…though…"

Mario was interested in this conversation that was about to partake- he was the only one who wasn't present at any sort of wedding, so far, which meant that his knowledge on that particular subject was quite limited.

"I remember vaguely…" Peach explained. "Bowser was just sort of…teleported somewhere. I don't have the slightest clue to where, though I'm guessing to another word like the rest of us. Then poor Luigi…"

Mario's eyes opened a tad bit wider upon hearing the name of his brother. He glanced at Peach, hoping for more info. Peach saw Mario's expression that longed for answers, so she gave it her best shot.

"When you were knocked out, Mario…and Count Bleck opened up a portal that absorbed everyone…well, Luigi was unintentionally sucked in as well. He made a bold attempt to save me, if I recall correctly, but then the Chaos Heart…loud explosion…I don't really remember much thanks to Nastasia."

"I wonder what happened to Malon though…she was copied by a strange girl, but I can't really remember what she looked like…" Link informed.

"What do you mean by that?" Peach asked.

"Yeah, tell us more!"

Link almost didn't want to continue- the one thing he remembered for sure was that it was that mysterious girl who had originally crashed the wedding and ruined everything. The next thing he knew, Zelda was getting married to Ganondorf instead, Malon was yelling at him, and he had left. He winced at the memory.

"Well…I just know that she wasn't a Duplighost, and she definitely wasn't from Hyrule. But wait…how did Zelda end up with you two if she was back home with Ganondorf?"

"You haven't figured that out yet, Link?" Amy gasped. "Hello! The wedding was a sham- Peach was hypnotized into marrying Bowser, I married Sonic (sort of), and Zelda was most likely hypnotized into marrying Ganondorf so that the Chaos Heart could be born!"

"Amy!" Peach exclaimed sharply, hopping up and down madly now. This conversation had skyrocketed, and Mario noticed that it was catching the attention of all the slaves and the overseer- they hadn't seen such a ruckus in a long time!

Amy ignored Peach's warning and starting jumping faster with her frustration rising. Link gaped at the female hedgehog that was looking like she was getting ready to attack.

"You IDIOT! Why would you leave the one you love behind when she's in great danger? Just because of a LIE? Now look what's happened!"

"Amy, I-"

"You don't know how upset she was, Link!" Amy yelped, now nearly hysterical. "Grrr…If you had never left- no, forget that, if you had invited us all to your wedding, we all would have been there, together, and we could have prevented all of this!"

"AMY!" Peach and Link exclaimed simultaneously, both tones sporting a combination of anger and fear. Mario, on the other hand, was dumbstruck.

Mario: WHAT.

Peach's palm went flying to her forehead, Link looked like he was about to collapse, and Amy was shaking from her anger high. Mario somewhat glared at Link, one reason being that he kept that little tidbit of info to himself, and the other- Link was getting married and didn't bother to tell anyone?

Amy covered her mouth once her anger toned down a few degrees. "I'm sorry…but, no one told Mario about that?"

"Link was supposed to," Peach replied acidly. "But I take it that he never did."

"What was I supposed to do, Peach? Stroll up to Mario at some random time and say, "Oh hey Mario! Those Shrooms sure are feisty in this world, eh? Oh yeah, I forgot to say that I was supposed to get married and I didn't invite any of my closest friends!" How's that?"

"I don't know what's more appalling- the fact that if he had invited us, we wouldn't be here, or the fact that he didn't invite us in the first place!" exclaimed Peach.

"Why didn't Zelda do anything?" Amy questioned. "Or even Malon?"

"Is this really relevant to the situation at hand…?" trailed Tippi unsurely. Mario, Link, Amy, and even Peach turned to her and gave her a sharp nod, all while still earning their Rubees.

"Malon couldn't do anything because she wasn't on the planning committee," Link huffed. "I told Zelda I would take care of the guests while she managed decorations!"

"And then what happened?" Peach huffed right back.

"Zelda's side of the altar was overloaded while my side was…nearly desolate."

"And why didn't you invite anyone! ?" Amy sneered.

"Was a wedding really an emergency? Tails made sure to let everyone know that the only time you should use the watches was for emergencies only."

"But if you had, then when the teleporting foe gang or whatever they're called arrived, they'd be outnumbered AND outmatched!" Amy pointed out, with Mario agreeing instantly.

"Why didn't you think of wanting to invite us in the first place Link?" Peach asked her tone a lot softer than before. Link frowned and turned away from them.

"I really don't want to talk about it…_please?"_

Peach was silent, watching him through eyes that said he was going to speak of it at some point whether he liked it or not, but Link could tell she had agreed for the moment. Amy had seemingly brushed it all off and went back to focusing solely on jumping, but you could also tell that it was still on her mind. Mario was still in a blur about how much he didn't know. Why was he always the last to find out about these things?

"…I actually wouldn't be surprised if Tails and Knuckles were still at home!" Amy scoffed, changing the subject back to what it originally was before it veered dangerously off course. "They were there when Sonic and I were getting sucked into a portal of our own, and they tried to help, but some freaky jester guy had blocked them off from us with an invisible barrier."

"I hope they're at least trying to help…" trailed Link, who barely had to jump considering his impressive height. Amy just shrugged as she earned another Rubee.

"I hope so too…but I wouldn't blame them if they weren't either. If I was in their position, I wouldn't even know where to start…"

"We have our watches though," Peach pointed out, showing off her wrist for emphasis. "Since Tails built them, I'd assume he'd be doing what he can to locate us all or something."

"Man, I wish these things would work…" complained Link, fumbling with his again. "The only people I can contact are Mario, Amy, Peach, and Sonic. Wait…Sonic-?"

"Did you just say_ Sonic?" _Amy nearly slurred, now adjusting her watch as well.

"Can we stop jumping now?" Peach moaned. Apparently anger and adrenaline rushes left a person feeling very feeble. Mario nodded, and stepped off the floor. Peach followed eagerly, while Amy and Link were working quickly to strengthen their connection with Sonic's watch, briefly forgetting about the outburst they shared earlier which was replaced with this glimmer of hope.

"I still think it's pointless to be able to only talk at close-range…" Peach complained, now messing with her watch as well.

"Hey, at least it's proving to be useful in locating people!" Link stated. "That's how we randomly found Amy!"

Meanwhile, Mario walked up to the overseer, who was obviously disappointed that the commotion didn't carry on and he had to go back to whipping air and watching people jump like beans.

"Want your Rubees, do you, little flea?"

Mario: Yep.

"Well, fine. For your and your friends' above average work, here's an above average sum of Rubees."

Mario, Peach, Link, and Amy had jumped one hundred times altogether, meaning that when they got paid, they earned a total of 100 Rubees. Mario originally would've doubled over at the meager amount, considering that was merely a fraction compared to the full total of what they owed. He motioned for his team to exit- they were taking a well-deserved break, even though they should have probably returned to jumping.

"Darn it…I can't seem to get a hold of Sonic," pouted Amy.

"Neither can I," sighed Link, giving up for the moment. "Oh well, what's the plan of action Mario?"

Personally, Mario just wanted to stretch his legs, but poking around the mansion a little more seemed just as pleasing. And for whatever reason, he didn't feel like paying Mimi a visit and depositing their well-earned Rubees…yet, at least. When they left the generator room, Mario took another look at the door with the pass code pad. He really wanted to find out what was behind there, or even just get in there for himself. However, for the time being, he led the group toward a door on the far left.

"Well this is interesting…" Peach trailed as they entered. It was a dull room filled with prisoners, who seemed to be taking a bit of a break as well.

"Let's talk to them!" announced Boomer. "I'm getting some interesting vibes from them!"

"I dunno…they seem pretty shady in my opinion…" Link stated, studying a skinny guy in a blue striped uniform.

"Don't be so judgmental!" Peach cried, making her way to a guy in red stripes. "Hi!"

"Juicy info! I got it! Want it? I'll tell you for 1 Rubee!" he replied excitedly. Peach shook her head.

"Nah, it doesn't sound very valuable if it's only worth 1 Rubee…"

"I'll bump up the price!"

"How does that make someone want to buy something even more?"

"Oh I see. I see. Can't part with your precious single Rubee. You make me sick."

The guy continued to grumble incoherent things under his breath, receiving a look from Peach, while Amy headed for the door.

"Meh, there's nothing of value in here-"

"There's a presence in the third dimension…" Tippi pointed out, speaking for the first time in a while. "Perhaps Mario and Link should check that out…"

Link shrugged. "Well, we've got nothing to lose. Taking control!"

Mario: Yah!

They put up their arms and swapped dimensions, seeing the guy Tippi spoke of lingering about in the corner. Mario sensed potential in the mysterious man and approached unresistingly.

"Fine timing, friend of mine! I just got hold of some verrrrry delectable info! You're timely, so it's yours! I was gonna charge 10,001 Rubees, but for you…10,000! Sound good?"

"It would if we even had enough!" guffawed Link. "You really expect someone to jump ten thousand times?"

"Apparently Mimi expects us all to jump a million," the guy shrugged. "You can always come back if you've got the cash."

Link was about to give him a piece of his mind, but Mario actually took into consideration that the information he possessed was probably worth the price they'd have to pay. Storing the guy's location, and asking price, in the back of his head, Mario and Link returned to 2-D.

"Did you find anything?" Peach and Amy asked at the same time.

"Just a guy who wants 10000 Rubees for info!" Link exclaimed.

"Well, we'd better earn 10000 Rubees then-" began Peach.

"NO! What if it's a huge scam?" protested Link.

"A huge scam was that guy trying to get me to buy info for a Rubee!" Peach scoffed. "Daring to price 10,000...that's got to be worth something!"

Mario: I agree.

"I just don't see the logic," groaned Link.

"I don't either…" Tippi admitted. "…but I trust Peach."

"Say wha-" "Thank you, Tippi."

"Hey, new flea, huh?" the skinny guy Link was looking at whispered, mainly to Amy. She blinked and turned around.

"Are you talking to me?"

"Yup! Didja know there's a VIP room as well as the normal one? You can earn Rubees there WAY faster than in the entry-level, flea-jumping room. Here's the problem though: you need a pass code to get in, and only members know it."

Well, that was interesting. At least Mario now knew what was behind the locked door. But after hearing that you could earn Rubees faster? Man, they needed to get in there.

"Man, if only I knew that pass code…" the guy rambled, voicing Mario's exact thoughts. He gave the guy a weird look as he herded the group out the door, Amy turning around and thanking him for the info before leaving.

. . .

"What shall we do now? Attempt to get 10000 Rubees?" Peach pondered. "Or shall we find the pass code to the VIP room so we can earn those Rubees faster?"

"I'd pick option 2, but where are we supposed to look for a pass code?" Link countered back.

"Someone is bound to know it…perhaps one of the VIP members are on break somewhere else?" Tippi suggested.

"The next question is would they be willing to offer up the code?" Amy mulled. "And where would we look? We've been in every room we can reach…"

Peach shook her head. "Not necessarily…"

"What do you mean?"

Peach made a motion for everyone to follow her, leading the group back down the lowest platform, which could arguably be called stairs. Peach then pointed over to the left- sure enough; there was another door on the other side of a small gap. The problem was, it was too far to jump, and too high to climb onto. Peach gave Amy a wink and both of them whipped out their gliding tools.

"Wait a second, are you two going to take control and go into that room by yourselves?" Link questioned.

"Why not?" shrugged Amy.

Mario, on the other hand, offered to come along as well. Peach happily acquiesced.

"Okay then, Mario! Link, are you coming along?"

Link shook his head. "Nah, I'll wait here, if it's all the same. I want a bit of time to be on my own, if that's all right…"

"Of course, Link. Let's take control, Amy."

"Right behind you!"

Peach leapt, the air catching her parasol and allowing her to glide carefully over the gap. Amy twirled her hammer over her head while giggling giddily for unknown reasons. Peach landed delicately on the other side…until Amy crashed into her and both were sent to the floor.

"Um…oomph?"

"I have terrible aim."

Once they released control, Mario popped onto the scene, looking confused as always after someone took control. Peach then entered the door, followed by Amy, while Mario noticed something peculiar about the wall next to him- something just didn't feel right…

. . .

"So, what do we have in this room…" Peach hummed to herself. It was a room just like the last one, only with less people - it was really just two slaves and an overseer- and had a box where you could buy a Mushroom. It was a tad nicer than the other break room, that was for sure.

"Hey, new gerbils…" the prisoner closer to the door whispered to them. The way he had said "gerbil" seemed to be like how the other guys had called them "fleas". "You wanna learn a secret? Yeah, I bet'cha you do…"

"That depends- how much do you want?" Amy retorted.

"Just slip me 100 Rubees. I'll tell ya something good. Honest. It's prime info."

Peach and Amy exchanged glances- if they paid they guy, they'd lose all their Rubees! But at the same time…what if the info really was to their benefit? Taking the risk, Peach pulled out the Rubees Mario had obtained and handed them to the guy.

"Your mom taught you to trust strangers, huh? Yeah, solid parenting right there." Peach was going to reply very strongly to that until he continued. "Well, turns out she was a smart cookie. I'm gonna give you the VIP pass code. "

"Really?" Amy squealed, excitedly bumping into Peach.

"Well, that turned out to be simple!" Peach chuckled.

"The secret code is…5963!"

Amy's enthusiasm suddenly deflated like a balloon. "What good is it?"

"Amy-?"

"That's a secret, duh!" the guy snapped back. "Just remember 5963, gerbil. Thank me later."

"Um okay…" Peach shrugged, heading back out. "Say, Amy…what was that all about? You know that code is going to earn us Rubees a ton faster!"

"Oh, what? No…I was just thinking about…wait, actually, I dunno. But apparently there must be something important about that room if that guy was snapping about keeping it a secret."

"Indeed…we'll find out when we get in there, though. 5963...let's go tell Mario and Link!"

. . .

Meanwhile, Mario had finally begun to investigate the wall, but found nothing odd about it…

…in 2-D, anyway.

He lifted his arms above his head, using his ability to teleport to enter the third dimension. He smirked upon finding a hole in the wall that lead to a hidden large chest. Thoreau, who was accompanying Mario, cheered with delight.

"I can feel another Pixl in there!" he cried eagerly.

Mario was hoping for a Super Hammer himself, but figuring that he was in a different dimension, that would not be so. When the lid cracked open, a tiny voice whispered: "Know the secret?"

Mario: ?

"CUZ I DO!"

A triangle shaped Pixl came flying out, looking quite excited. Thoreau was also thrilled at the sight of a new Pixl pal.

"So, do ya know the secret, pard? Well, do ya? Iffen you close yer peepers…and imagine real hard…that the world's gone…Why, it's just about the biggest dern thrill ever!"

Mario had to cock his head at that statement. The Pixl then blared, "WHUH-HUH? My senses are tellin' me that you're the hero! Whoa…hey, welcome, pard. Got some bad news though. Looks to me like yer lacking in thrills."

Why did Mario have to endure this alone?

"I can't give my powers to anyone who's too skinny in the thrills department. So here's what we do, pard! I'll recharge your thrill gauge in the next three seconds!"

Mario stared at the Pixl like it was crazy.

"You ready? Here goes! OOOOOOONE! TWOOOOO! THREEEEE! FIIIIIVE!"

It was amazing that Mario managed to fall asleep within 'ten seconds'.

"FOOOOOUR! SEVENTEEEEEEN! THREE-POINT-ONE-FOUR! ONE MARZIIIIIILLION! TEN!"

Mario jolted back awake as Slim, the Pixl's name, had finished counting. He fluttered to the top off the chest and started at Mario with glee.

"No yer all chargified, pard! Yepper, now you've got yer thrills! Now remember we Pixls got loads of power, so you'd best be real careful with us! We had a little dustup with them Ancient 2,000 years ago….but we're pards now. So let's go have us some thrills, huh? C'mon!"

After Slim had flown circles around Mario, and Mario held his new Pixl high above his head, Slim explained what his power was. Upon hearing what he could do, Mario had a flashback.

_. . ._

_"Man…that was TOO close!" Koops wheezed. "Gotta shake it off…hoo. Ok. We got the key, so let's go open that spooky chest."_

_"Uurrrggghhh…I can't feel my legs…or walk…" whispered Link, crashing to the ground in a feeble attempt to take a step._

_"You just lay there while we go unlock the chest," Goombella demanded._

_"Nooooooo! I wanted to be cursed!"_

_Mario returned to the chest, key ready and all._

_"Hey there! Boy, I am SO glad you found that key! Unbelievable!"_

_Mario slid the key in the lock, turned it, and waited for what was to come._

_"WHEE HEE HEE HEE HEE! FOOOOOOLS!"_

_Mario: Totally saw that one coming._

_He was teleported away to get his curse, leaving Goombella with Link and Koops._

_"This is so not fair! Just as he leaves, I get better! It's like fate didn't want me to be cursed for some reason!"_

_"Yes, life sure is cruel to you!"_

_When Mario returned, he demonstrated that he could turn sideways and slip through cracks. This is how they escaped out of the cell._

_. . ._

Well, Mario could definitely say he was familiar with Slim's ability, since he recalled a time on his last adventure, and it made him smile. Just a little.

"So now ya know the secret, huh, pard? Don't ya? Playin' hide-an'-seek is the biggest thrill you can find! You outta try it!"

Mario gave his new companion a nod, and went into 3-D to exit the hidden room. As soon as he returned back to 2-D, Peach and Amy scrambled excitedly out the door.

"Mario! We've got the pass code for the VIP room!" Amy cried happily. Mario broke out into a grin as Peach nodded to confirm this.

"Yes…it's 5963!" she then spotted Slim floating next to Thoreau. "Oh, is that a new Pixl? How adorable!"

Mario nodded and offered Thoreau to Amy, who currently lacked a Pixl. Amy shrugged and allowed Thoreau to float by her side while Slim continued to flitter around Mario.

"Nice to meet y'all!" Slim said cheerfully.

Amy started at the new Pixl curiously. "What can he do?"

Mario said he'd tell them once they returned to Link. Peach nodded, then promptly took control and glided back across the gap with Amy in tow. This time, Peach landed and jumped a few steps forward, allowing Amy a clear area to land on. However when Amy landed she stumbled over her own two feet and knocked both Peach and Link down like a set of dominoes.

"Sorry! Sorry…"

"I wonder about those boots of yours…" grumbled Link, Peach helping him up and Mario helping Amy up. Amy gave Link a sheepish look, but he apparently brushed it off like the dust on his tunic. "So…did you guys find anything of interest?"

"Heck yeah! Amy and I found the code to the VIP room, and Mario found this cute little Pixl whose name is Slim-"

"What! Aw, come on! You guys find cool things while I just flipped into 3-D, blew up a hidden wall with Boomer, and found a plain old Boo card. It's not even rare!"

"Poor Link…always seeming to get the short end of the stick," Amy said. "...Ooh! Mario! You were going to show us what Slim can do?"

Mario snapped his fingers when he remembered and brought Slim forth. Using Slim's power, he was able to go paper thin, just like back in the days of when he was cursed six months ago. Peach and Amy were impressed while Link was surprised.

"It's just like that one move the awesome ability box- I mean, black curse chest, gave you!" Link exclaimed. Mario nodded- those curses were more helpful than hurtful, and even though the chest demons that cursed him appeared evil, they were really the spirits of four ancient heroes…

"Mario? Mario!" Peach called, snapping her gloved fingers in front of Mario's face. He snapped out of his thoughts and looked at Peach aloofly. "We're going to the VIP room so we can earn our 10000 Rubees faster!"

Mario: Oh yeah!

Without any other distractions or delays, the group headed back up to the top floor, to the currently forbidden door.

_"Not for long,"_ Mario thought, as he punched in "5963" into the number pad. Everyone was jittering with excitement as the code was accepted and the door was now.

However, the door wasn't even opened when a loud "RUN, GERBILS!" suddenly rang out.

"Where in this world did that come from?" gasped Tippi. The Team Mario and ZAP members all raised their wrists- sure enough; a vision of an overseer whipping his whip furiously at its intended target was on display.

"Keep running! Especially the real gerbil!" he cackled devilishly.

"I'm…not…a…gerbil…" a voice huffed out. "I'm a hedgehog!"

"SONIC!" Amy cried as she nearly plowed the door down in a battle to get it open. When it finally was open, everyone was taken by surprise.

Peach had thought the VIP room would at least be a little more classy- in fact, it stunk even more than the other room, and there were less people AND machines in there! Three wheels hung from the ceiling- a more efficient way to make energy. In the red wheel was a skinny blue slave that could hardly run to save his life, in the blue one was a red slave that was going so fast that he ran the entire wheel without making it spin, and in the yellow was a blue hedgehog running at nearly the speed of sound, cheeks flushed a magnificent red.

Amy nearly cried out to her beloved hero, but the rest of the group clamped their hands over her mouth and just watched.

"'Round and 'round and 'round she goes! When I'll retire, nobody knows! Big Boss Mimi hates the dark more than old ham! So move those gerbil legs! POWEEEER UP!"

He then whipped at Sonic's wheel, making Amy growl dangerously.

"C'mon, Gerbil! I know what you're capable of! With your ability, we can keep this mansion lit forever!" He boomed. Sonic felt the quick sting of the whip unluckily hit his ankle, causing him to slightly wince.

"Let me go!" Amy hissed, struggling to break free of the holds. "I've got to save Sonic!"

"Easy, Amy…we can't startle him, he'll trip!" Peach explained.

"We'll just easily walk over and talk to the overseer, and hope that Sonic doesn't see us so his heart won't stop with the shock and surprise or something," added Link, beginning to guide the girl over. Peach secured her other side while Mario covered the back. Tippi glanced up at the one that was apparently known as Sonic- boy, could he ever run!

"These people seem to possess quite amazing abilities…" she mused to herself.

Miraculously, the group managed to sneak past Sonic unseen and made it to the overseer.

"This is the VIP room. Run in a wheel, make volts, and earn some cash! Yeah, major upgrade from that other room! You'll earn crazy Rubees in here! Unh!"

"What's he doing here?" Amy whispered coldly, pointing at Sonic. The overseer let out a heartily chuckle.

"Oh that one? He plumb fell outta the sky and crashed through the roof! Landed smack on Big Boss Mimi's most prized vase, shattering it to bits! So naturally, with the payment from the last person who broke her vase, she bought a new one and placed it on the ? Block on the lower floor."

"If it was replaced, why is he still here?" Link asked, daring the overseer to spew out the answer.

"See, technically the guy never paid his debt, so Mimi forced him to do manual labor to pay it off and replace the fund that Mimi had to spend. Problem was, he was easily able to make half the million Rubees just in the other generator room, which Mimi took note of. He gained access to the VIP room, which is here, and he instantly started making even more Rubees!"

"Shouldn't he be gone by now?" Peach stated questioningly. The overseer shrugged.

"Mimi saw the guy's potential, and his pay was lowered drastically before we moved him into this room. It's a win-win, really…his speed keeps the energy in this place sky-high and he most likely will never leave because of the low wage Mimi gave him."

Suddenly, they heard a loud, exasperated gasp above their heads and the gang watched as Sonic abruptly stopped running, collapsing forward and falling onto the wheel. Amy let out a high pitched cry while the overseer, once again, chortled in his raspy way.

"I knew that would be coming again soon…"

"What do you by _again?" _Amy roared, not holding back any longer. Mario, Link, and Peach were just as enraged, Tippi watching with interest and worry.

"He's so determined to get out of here that he works his tail off running as fast and as long as he can go…the guy's not invincible though, so every so often his body will force itself to stop. Then he falls asleep for a few hours, he tries to make an escape, we give him a good whipping, and bang, he's back in that wheel faster than…sound."

"You animal!" Amy howled, not caring about the irony of the statement. "You can't do that to my husband!"

"Did she just say-" Tippi began. Link sweat dropped, Mario face palmed, and Peach was already thinking up a way to convince Amy that she and Sonic were not really married.

But for the moment, the wheel rolled to a complete stop. The hatch creaked open, and an overexhausted Sonic came tumbling out. Before he hit the floor, Link dove over and managed to catch him, Amy right on his heels. He was out like a light, cheeks still a bright red.

"Jeez…what do you do, force every ounce of energy from him like a battery?" Link sneered at the overseer.

"Don't look at me…it's Mimi!"

Mario wasn't at all surprised. But before they dealt with Mimi, Sonic definitely needed to be tended to.

**Break Room Next Door-**

"Unh…" Sonic groaned, actually feeling his body began to cool down. Peach had sent Amy to go retrieve a Shroom from the other break room, but of course she refused to leave Sonic's side and forced Mario to use a Shroom Shake on him to get him to regain some energy.

"Why do these things only happen to me…" he moaned, randomly babbling to no one in particular. "First, I'm tied up and left hanging over lava in a volcano. Then, I'm chucked overboard a ship into dangerous waves. Now, I'm trapped in this torturous place for the rest of my life, passing out every few hours! Nargh…"

"Don't worry Sonic; we're working on getting out here!" Amy replied cheerfully, patting his hand.

"I am too…she made it so impossible…"

"Sonic, are your senses working?" Peach asked, lightly poking him. "You seem really out of it…do you even know who you're talking to?"

"I still can't believe Amy was right and Sonic WAS here!" Link sighed while shaking his head. "Though at this rate we should've figured he was being tortured in some way-"

"LINK!" Amy snapped, causing Sonic to wince from the sound. "Whoops, sorry."

"He never answered me," Peach pouted.

"Dude…have you gotten a grip yet?"

"Get out of his face! He can't breathe with all of us hounding him!"

"Then you back off as well!"

"Guys! Ugh…" Sonic grunted, grabbing his head. He stood back up, reaching for the wall for support as he made his way to the door. "I've gotta earn the rest of my Rubees…gotta get out of here…"

"Eek! They've got him in a trance!" Amy wailed. Mario grabbed Sonic's arms and carefully pulled him back over. The usual spark in his green eyes were dulled, and lost for whatever reason. Mario shook him, Sonic practically limp in his grip. Mario snapped his fingers a few times, and was getting ready to smack him across the face when Sonic suddenly started blinking and finally getting a grip.

"Oh my gosh…wow I hate it here!" Sonic cried, voice showing that he was starting to come back to life. "Argh, Mario…every time I've passed out, I've totally lost it! I feel like a meteor struck me…one minute it was just a casual run, next thing I'm "married", in a strange place, and now literally running for my life! A guy can't win, ya know? …oh hey, what are you doing here?"

Mario explained that it was a long story, and that not even he was sure of all the details, then turned and pointed to Link, Peach, and Amy standing behind him. Sonic smiled lightly and spread out his arms.

"Well, isn't this a surprise? Hey, Link, Peach! Haven't seen you guys in awhile!"

"Good to see you too, Sonic," Link stated truthfully.

"You were in pretty rough shape!" Peach exclaimed. "Your cheeks are looking better, which is good. They were such a shade of red…"

"Eh, I've had worse," Sonic shrugged, winking at Mario and Link. "Now where did A-"

"SONIC!"

As Amy rambled to Sonic after she tackled him to the ground, Tippi curiously looked on, fluttering over Peach's shoulder.

"Who is he…" she murmured. "He was able to bounce back from such exhaustion and act like it never happened! Plus that speed of his was incredible!"

Peach just smiled in response. "I'm sure he'd be happy to introduce himself…once Amy gets off of him."

"Are the two an item?"

"Uh…" Peach sweat dropped. "The only certain thing is that Amy is in love with Sonic. Anything else isn't really confirmed…"

"I can hear you!" Sonic called, fighting to get Amy off of him. When he freed himself, he jumped to his feet and gave a small bow in front of Tippi. "The name's Sonic- Sonic the Hedgehog! Just call me Sonic, though. I'm the third member of Team Mario, and the fastest thing alive! …at least, in my own world. But I'm pretty sure I'm faster than everything else in other worlds too."

"Other worlds…" Tippi mused. "Say, Sonic…do you happen to possess the ability to teleport?"

Sonic nodded eagerly. "I sure do! Why do you ask?"

"Apparently being able to teleport is a sign that you're a Legendary Hero according to the Prophecy of Light or something," Link explained vaguely.

"Light Prognosticus!" Tippi interrupted.

"Yeah, that. And Mario can teleport now too, but he's limited in only flipping from 2-D to 3-D and back again."

"My name is Tippi," Tippi continued. "I'm what's known as a Pixl…Pixls possess unique powers…though they represent special abilities of the legendary heroes, however."

"Or Soul Partners," murmured Link, glanced behind him at Boomer.

Sonic folded his arms and tapped his foot while thinking. "Let me get this straight…I'm a legendary hero from a book, Mario can teleport, that butterfly is a thing called a Pixl, and I take it the only reason you guys are even here is because you're on a hunt for some powerful artifact of sorts?"

Mario: As always!

"Except the teleporting, Mario," Peach pointed out helpfully.

"But you've got it, Sonic!" Amy giggled.

"Of course, there's a whole web of information you're missing, but you've got the gist of it!" Link added. "What we're after this time are called Pure Hearts, which when unified can counteract the power of the Chaos Heart that was created when you and Amy, Peach and Bowser, and…Zelda and Ganondorf…got married, and now we're here because the owner of this mansion, Merlee, holds a Pure Heart but no matter what we do, that creep Mimi is getting in our way and we can't seem to find Merlee and I'm out of breath and about to faint…"

Sonic shook his head as Link seeped to the ground. "Dang man, did you _really _think I'd be able to understand that?"

Mario: We're collecting Hearts to stop the Void in the sky. And Mimi's a freak.

"Thanks Mario!"

"That was certainly blunt and to the point," Peach stated with her arms folded. Mario wasn't about to go into the details if he didn't know about them himself.

"So…" Sonic continued, nervously glancing around. "Where's everyone else?"

"Ugh, where were you when we had that discussion?" grumbled Link jokingly. "But we're all scattered throughout the worlds…we found you, Amy, and Peach by pure luck-"

"Ahem, Mario found you by pure luck as well," Tippi input. Link gave her a look.

"Yes, Tipps here is correct as well. Our watches are all pretty useless thank to traveling to the center of dimensions, or being forcibly teleported in other cases, but whenever we get in close range with someone, they go crazy, which is sort of helpful."

"I see…I only ask because Team ZAP lacks Zelda."

All eyes turned to Link, whose face was puckered like he had just eaten something sour.

"Zelda's location is unknown like everyone else's…" Link began slowly. "But we'll find her, that's for sure."

Mario, Peach, and Amy decided that it wasn't wise to mention again that Zelda had jumped for Link's sake, or bring up the marriage for Sonic's sake. Sonic luckily didn't seem too keen on learning anymore- it would resurface when needed.

"'Kay then…so you guys are stuck with a huge debt too?"

"Yeah…" groaned Amy. "Link broke Mimi's stupid vase and we owe her a million Rubees, just like you."

"There really wasn't another option- the block was just screaming "bash me"!"

"But, we're currently aiming to get 10000 Rubees so we can pay a certain guy for some top secret info that I'm now starting to think will help us in the long run," Peach threw in. "Can we have 10000 of the Rubees you earned?"

Sonic nervously scratched the back of his head. "No…"

"No? What do you mean no?" Amy and Link both gaped.

"Erm…I may have already paid off half of what I owe to Mimi…and since my wage is insanely low right now, I've only got a hundred Rubees on me…if I was at normal wage, then heck yeah I'd have ten thousand, if not the other half of the million."

"Oh…if only this place wasn't so cruel to you, Sonic," Amy pouted.

"If only this place wasn't so cruel to everyone…" Sonic replied. "It's sick!"

"If only we could get your wage back up…then you hop back in the wheel, bolt off with your speed, earn the cash in a matter of minutes, then we pay that guy!" Link proclaimed.

"You guys could always run, you know," Sonic huffed, arms still folded. "I'm almost afraid to step back in that wheel…I'm not allowed to quit running until my body practically forces a shutdown! These people are so twisted…"

"I'll run it!" Amy offered, jumping up and down and waving her hands eagerly. "After all, I'm almost as fast as Sonic, you know!"

"Amy, you can't even land after gliding, to be frank," Link stated. "What makes you think you can run a wheel without tripping?"

"Hey, I think she can do it," Sonic admitted, giving a thumbs up. "Go for it, Amy!"

Mario: Oh yeah!

Amy was beaming. "You guys are really going to leave it to me?"

Sonic and Mario nodded.

"All right then! Like I said, I'm not going to hold back!"

Peach clapped her hands. "You go, Amy!"

**VIP Room-**

The overseer was surprised to see Sonic back on his feet so soon, but even more surprised to see Mario, Link, Peach, and Amy backing him up.

"Well, the gerbil's back. Ready to run another round?" the slave master snickered, cracking his whip.

"Nope," the hedgehog replied casually, before pointing to Amy. "She is."

The overseer gave Amy a look. "Your wifely gerbil wants run now?"

"One, she is a hedgehog, just like me, and two, SHE'S NOT MY WIFE!"

"Don't try to deny it, Sonic!" Amy giggled. "After all, you even kissed the bride!"

Mario, Peach, Link: O.O

"Say what now man?" Link guffawed. "Who are you and what have you done with Sonic?"

Sonic's face was red once again, but this time not from exhaustion. "I was pushed, alright? And unfortunately, I fell onto Amy in a certain position that just so _happened_ to cause us to-"

"KISS! And he was wearing the **cutest** little tuxedo-"

"Amy, get in that wheel before I change my mind, so help me…" Sonic grumbled.

"I so want to tease you right now," Link snickered. Sonic glared intensely back.

"You know better than to do that."

"I know. And that's the only thing preventing me from doing at this point, Blushy."

"So, a new gerbil, huh…" the overseer continued, occasionally looking over Amy's shoulder to see Sonic and Link duking it out. "Hungry for Rubees, gerbil? You wanna work here?"

"I'm ready!" Amy responded.

"Great, great, just hang on one second for me…MOOOOOVE, GERBILS! MOVE! Y'know, sometimes I wonder why I do this…but it's simple: work is fun! You ready?"

Amy nodded her head 'yes' as Sonic took his attention off of Link and started to march over to punch the overseer, but Peach and Mario grabbed his arms at the last second and prevented him from going so.

"Good answer! Now, get in there gerbil! MOVE!"

Amy jumped up into the wheel, giving her friends a quick wave before the hatch closed and she was forced to run.

"Is she really almost as fast as you, Sonic?" Tippi asked. Sonic nodded while watching intently.

"Yeah…I'd assume so, since she's somehow able to keep up with me. She's the third fastest back in our world, that I know for sure."

Amy was already dashing off at a decent pace, the wheel becoming a yellow blur with a dash of red in the middle. The rest of the group stood around awkwardly, not really sure of what to do next.

"How long is this going to take?" Link questioned, now slumped against the wall.

"Fifteen minutes for ten thousand rupees," the overseer replied.

"Fifteen minutes?" gaped Peach.

"Hey, for an average person, it would be an hour! Be happy you've got friends in speedy places!"

"At the same time, that just means we've got fifteen minutes to kill…" sighed Link.

Sonic looked thoughtful for a few moments before jumping to his feet and heading for the exit.

"I just remembered something that I think I should show you guys!" Sonic announced. He turned to Peach. "Would you mind staying here with Amy? This involves us taking control anyway…"

"Uh, sure thing, Sonic…"

"Cool. All right then! Mario, Link, follow me…"

Mari and Link exchanged looks- what did Sonic want to show them? They shrugged- they both knew the only way to find out was to follow their friend. Amy, still running to her heart's content, saw her hero head for the door.

"Sonic, are you leaving? Where are you going?"

"We'll be right back Amy; we're going to check out something!" Sonic called back.

"And I get to stay here with you!" Peach exclaimed. "Which would be a lot more pleasant if it didn't smell of sweat in here…"

. . .

"Okay, so what's the big thing Sonic?" Link asked once they stepped out into the hallway. Sonic stood directly in front of the wall, backs turned to his team.

"See, back when I was restrained to the other generator room, I came out here to take a quick break, since I was itching for some exploration! I randomly went into the third dimension, and BAM- I found a hidden passage that leads to somewhere very interesting…"

"A Jacuzzi?"

"No."

Sonic let out a battle cry as he threw up his hands, transporting into 3-D like Mario and Link would have. Sure enough, just like on the floor below, a hidden passage was definitely there. Mario was the first to step in, followed by Sonic quickly hitting a block that made a ladder appear.

"There's an even higher part of the mansion?" gawked Link. Sonic nodded.

"Yep- and what's up there is under tight security, even though the only way you can even get here is by teleporting…"

Mario felt the gears begin to turn in his head as he grabbed a rung of the ladder and pulled himself up, starting to climb. The mysteries behind this mansion were slowly falling into place and disclosing themselves. When he reached the top, his eyes widened upon seeing a high-voltage security area, with electrified barriers.

"See what I mean? Tight security…" Sonic trailed. "Obviously someone's got something that they don't want touched. I haven't been able to get by though, thanks to those laser things running up and down the hall…"

"So…you think something important is on the other side?" Link asked. Sonic gave a thumbs up.

"Yup, right on the ball. Do you have anything that could possibly get us past the barriers? 3-D doesn't work either…"

Mario studied the security device carefully- there was no way through it, no way around it, or over or under it for that matter…

He glanced at the Pixls- in their possession were Boomer and Slim, with Peach and Amy claiming Tippi and Thoreau. Boomer certainly wouldn't every helpful, but Slim on the other hand…

Mario summoned Slim's power, who instantly spun around a few times and made each member of Team Mario paper thin. Now that they were, when they stood completely still, the lasers would pass over them!

"What do ya know?" Sonic commented as they maneuvered their way through the laser trap.

"You know, this slimming down is really good for my figure!" Link admitted.

Even though they were paper thin at the moment, both Mario and Sonic managed to give Link a confused look.

"What?"

Mario just sighed and reached the other side of the laser trap, turning everyone back to normal. When Sonic was no longer thin, he excitedly ran to a large metal door, once again locked up by a secure pass code.

"That even further proves my theory!" he exclaimed. "Why have all the buffed up security if no one would even be able to reach it anyway? You know, not counting us, of course."

Mario pondered what Sonic had said- the only people even able to reach this part of the mansion would only be the ones who could teleport…and the only one who would probably want something locked up like this would be Mimi…

Could Mimi teleport as well? And if she had bad intentions…then it was very likely that she was a part of the gang of teleporting foes, including O'Chunks, and those Nastasia and "clown person" his friends had spoke of (who he assumed was Dimentio). All working for that Count Bleck character…

"Well it's locked," Link spoke, breaking Mario's concentration. "Not much we can do without another pass code."

"I'm definitely keeping this in mind- talk about suspicious!" Sonic declared. "…now we'd better get back to the girls before Amy over-runs herself trying to be like me or something."

Mario and Link couldn't argue with that, but what Mario had possibly discovered was nagging him in the back of his mind.

Perhaps Mimi wasn't so innocent after all.

**VIP Room-**

"Argh, where have you BEEN?" Amy puffed, still trudging on the wheel. Peach was on the floor, watching her go and giving her encouraging words.

"How long has she been going?" Link asked.

"She's almost done…just one more minute!" Peach replied happily. "Only thirty seconds now…"

"Urgh…Sonic, how do you manage to be so consistent?" Amy moaned.

"Manly stamina, Amy."

Peach had to roll her eyes at that one. "Oh please-"

"I'll say! …that was _so_ something I'd say!"

Sonic turned away from Link and Peach as Amy came to halt, the wheel stopping as well and the hatch opening. She stumbled around on the floor, legs feeling like jelly. Mario held her upright while Sonic talked to the overseer to claim the Rubees.

"She's on the normal wage," he stated with a smirk, holding his hand out. "10000, please."

The overseer murmured something before handing over the correct amount of Rubees.

"If you want a million you've still got a long way to go…" he murmured darkly. Sonic maintained his light casual attitude.

"I don't think it'll be much longer, really."

**Break Room Next Door Again-**

Mario, Link, and Sonic took control and warping into the 3-D, hurrying to the guy who was still lingering around, as if he was waiting for them to return. He recited the same speech as last time, Mario waiting patiently until he said: "…I'll only charge you 10,000 Rubees! Sound good?"

Mario: Yeah!

"Please oh please OH PLEASE let this not be a waste of money…" begged Link to no one in particular as Sonic gave him the correct amount of cash.

"Thanks, buddy of mine! Listen, and listen well. Mimi was napping, OK? And I heard her start sleep talking…and she whispered…41262816...think it's her boyfriend's number or something?"

"Nope," Sonic said confidently, whirled around to face his friends. "Gentlemen, I believe we have found our code."

"All right!" Link cheered, throwing up his hands in excitement and unintentionally teleporting back to 2-D. Peach and Amy jumped upon his sudden return, followed by Mario and Sonic flipping back as well.

"You sound happy…what did we learn this time?" Peach asked.

"We found the code to the safe!" Sonic cried.

Amy raised an eye ridge. "Safe? What safe?"

"Sonic found a hidden, high security area," Link explained. "And when we went to check it out again, we found another door that requires a pass code and that guy just gave it to us!"

"Thank my simple curiosity!" Sonic shrugged. "But we've got this now!"

Amy folded her arms. "You guys are going to go unlock that safe without us, aren't you?"

"It's faster…"

Peach just waved a hand. "Fine, but where there comes a time where we can do something you can't, we're going to leave you in the dust!"

"Sure, Peach. Sure…" Link trailed. Peach's hands flew to her hips as her face donned an "Excuse me?" expression.

Mario figured it was be a good time to head back up.

**Back at the Safe-**

"One can only imagine what lies behind this door…" Sonic whispered, jittering about with anticipation. "You remember the code, Mario? Quick, punch it in!"

Mario nodded and approached the door, typing in 41262816 into the pad. Sonic and Link nearly broke out into a song and dance as the door accepted the pass code and swung open.

The celebration ceased and was replaced with shock and jaw dropping.

"…is that what I think it is?" Sonic gaped.

"I believe so…" Link replied, also gawking.

Mario couldn't believe his eyes- behind the safe were a million Rubees! They were all stored up so no one would be able to earn then, or retrieve them, thus forcing them to be trapped in the mansion forever! The mountain of a million Rubees came tumbling down on them, the gang quickly scooping up as many as they possibly could.

"Holy cow!" Sonic gasped, struggling to escape the Rubee madness. "Looks like we're making a deposit, eh?"

"If we can get this entire haul down to the bottom floor…" winced Link.

**Moments Later-**

"…we probably owe you one," Link said sheepishly. They had returned back to the door in front of the break room where they had left Peach and Amy, pushing the million Rubees through the barrier trap, over the edge, into 3-D, and back out the passage so the girls could help carry some.

"Yes, yes you do," Peach said with a wink.

"But we can finally get out of here, right?" Amy asked.

"Actually…I don't know. There's your debt, and then I've got my own debt…what happens if we can only pay off one?" Sonic questioned worriedly.

"Then we stuff you in sack, kidnap you, and get the heck away from here," Link responded proudly.

Mario, carrying his part of the Rubees, led the way to Mimi's room. When they entered, she was sitting at a dignified office desk, wearing a cute little business uniform and smiling at them. The grin sent shivers down Mario's spine.

"Oh, hi there! Big welcome! So happy to have you here at Rubee Saving and Loan! First off, THANKS for taking out a special Rubee loan! Now, what can I do for you?"

The five of them strolled up to the counter casually, Sonic placing a hand on the desk and giving Mimi a smug look.

"I'd like to pay off some Rubees."

Mimi maintained her eerie grin. "Super! Let me just take all those Rubees off your hands!"

Mario, Link, Sonic, Peach, and Amy all dumped their part of the million onto Mimi, slightly snickering to themselves. Mimi's cheerful expression didn't falter, however, as she claimed the mound of Rubees.

"There you go! Well, thank you SO much for paying off your Rubee loan in…full…"

Mimi froze. Then she began to freak out mere seconds later, her two squarish pigtails standing out on end.

"WHAAAT?"

Sonic couldn't resist grinning. "Gotcha!"

"How did you earn enough Rubees to pay it off?" she chattered insanely and in disbelief. "That's not supposed to happen! No! You've broken my wonderful curse!"

Mimi continued to pout as she started to float in midair. "Nyeah! I'LL GET YOU! Aaaaaah…"

She exploded in front of their very eyes. The entire team lurched at the displeasing scene while the Star Block appeared in a barred off section next to the desk.

"So, that young imp put a curse on this mansion, then…but who was she, really?" Tippi wondered.

"I wonder too…" groaned Link, grabbing his head again.

"I'm worried about Merlee…we must hurry to her aid…"

Mario: Oh yeah!

"Brrr…I have to say, that whole episode was quite the rigmarole, huh?" Link groaned. "Such a complicated process for something we probably could have completely bypassed!"

"Hey, at least you found and helped me along the way!" Sonic pointed out. "I feel like I was purposely sent here though after Amy and I were sucked into that portal…"

"Well, what matters now is that you're with your friends again," Peach hummed, sliding a glance at Link while she said it. Sonic missed Link's uncomfortable wince.

"Yeah…and I get the feeling we'll be meeting up with some of the others very soon."

"So do I, actually," Link added. "I wouldn't be surprised if we randomly ran into someone else as soon as we get out of here…"

Sonic and Peach nodded in agreement. Mario, meanwhile, had flipped into 3-D and slenderized himself so he was able to get through the bars and reached the Star block. Amy pressed up against the bars, watching as Mario prepared to hit the block.

"Do you think Mimi is gone?" Amy asked, speaking her mind. "She exploded before our very eyes…but is she really gone?"

Mario glanced at the ground intently, then struck the Star Block and turned to Amy to reply.

Mario: No.

. . .

The mysterious handmaid Mimi disappeared in a bizarre explosion…what exactly was her plan, and why did she try to enslave Mario and friends? After the incident, Princess Peach noticed stairs going down.

"Here we go!" she said. "I wonder if Merlee is down here?"

Our heroes all thought the same thing as they traded worried glances…

The two teams solemnly made their way down, knowing there was no other path to follow.

* * *

**I have turned what was could possibly be (depending on how you play) the shortest chapter in the game into the longest chapter in the story so far. :P (It's also the longest chapter I've ever written! Go me for beating a record!) **

**Fun Fact: My grandmother was talking about a "rigmarole" while I was working on this chapter. I had to look it up to see what it meant...and I had to laugh. :P**


	14. The Basement Face Off

Super Paper Mario X

Chapter 13: The Basement Face-Off

"The Pure Heart is near…I feel its tremors so much more strongly down here…" Tippi announced. Mario nodded in her direction when a distant voice suddenly called out to the group.

_"Ah! Hooray! Whoopee! Thanks for coming to look for me!"_

Mario: ?

A faded image of a charmer-like figure appeared above their head, struggling to stay in contact with group as it spoke again.

_"Beautiful, mysterious, Merlee! Mistress of the house, it's me! So glad it's you I see!" she chanted in perfect rhyme. "So long I've waited for you. Your arrival is well past due."_

"Merlee…?" Amy trailed uncertainly.

_"But we can't meet like this, oh no, something's amiss. An evil one is after me, and safe and sound I cannot be. In the basement do I dwell, mazelike rooms are my cell, you will find me, I can tell…And…if you do…take care…For…your eyes…may err…Trust nothing…foul or… fair…"_

The image of Merlee briefly went fuzzy, and the heroes could tell Merlee was having trouble keeping the connection.

_"No…I cannot…last…My power...is fading…fast…The distance…is too…vast…Are you…ready to find me? Beware…if you do…I plea…"_

Merlee then disappeared. Mario glanced down into the dimly lit depths of the basement- she was down there, somewhere.

"She's gone…was that apparition really Merlee?" Tippi questioned. "Why do you suppose she was telling us to be so careful when we find her?"

"Perhaps we'll find out when we find her," Peach guessed, brushing a stray strand of hair our of her face. "But an evil one is after her? We had better hurry…"

"I wouldn't be surprised if it was that Mimi chick…" Sonic grumbled as he began making his way down the stairs.

"You think she's still around too?" Amy squeaked.

"I don't think she's completely gone either," admitted Link, although staring at the floor apprehensively. "Oog, I hate basements…"

"Why's that?" asked Peach.

"Basements are always full of spiders!" he cried. "Can you picture a whole basement full of half human, half spider people? Oog…I have dreams about that all the time, not to mention there have been quite a few basements I've been in that are chock full of huge Skulltulas-"

"Is your Triforce of Courage broken again?" Sonic asked, turning and raising an eye ridge. "Because it's sounding like you're afraid of spiders."

"I'm not_ afraid_ of spiders, I'm just being overly cautious about going into a basement!" Link protested. "Have you ever seen the size of a Skulltula…I can barely get away within an inch of my life with those things…"

"UGH! Stop talking about huge spiders!" begged Peach. "You're unsettling me."

"We must find Merlee nevertheless…along with the Pure Heart…" Tippi added.

Mario wasted no more time stalling with talk of frightening basements and huge spiders and opened one of two doors at the base of the stairs. Mario had picked the left one, to which no one was going to argue with since they didn't have a clue either. Mario' strategy was just to stick to the right- that way, if they got lost, they'd know which door they came from. A few Boos were in the first room, which Mario and Link knew how to take care of.

"Nyeah! Over here!" Link teased, sticking his tongue out at the ghosts. Link then turned his back, giving the Boos the opportunity to strike…also giving Mario one as well. His boots came crashing down onto each Boo with a devastating hop, not taking much to do them in. When he landed back on the ground, Mario and Link exchanged a high-five.

"Can I kill the next enemy? Please?" Amy asked eagerly. Mario nodded to her while opening the next door.

. . .

The lack of a platform beneath the door caused them to fall into a pile.

"We can't seem to stop falling on top of each other, can we?" grunted Link from the bottom of the pile.

"You do this often?" Sonic groaned from the top.

"Yup…" Peach trailed, being stuck in the middle. Mario wrestled his way out, causing everyone else to roll onto the floor except for Link, who was rolled over. The swordsman let out an "oomph" noise while Sonic happened to look up and see an orange square enemy begin to clone itself.

"Hey…what's that thing?"

"That the same type of enemy I defeated back in Gloam Valley to find Boomer!" Peach exclaimed.

"How do you kill it?" Amy suddenly asked, springing into action and gripping her hammer.

"You must defeat the original-"

"Sorry Ames, but I've got this one!" Sonic called, curling up into a blue ball, bouncing off the ground and throwing himself into the several clones.

"SONIC!"

Sonic didn't stop charging into the copies until he struck the original. Just like previously, any remaining clones disappeared in a puff of smoke. Sonic landed back on the ground obviously impressed with himself, when Amy grabbed his arm and shook him furiously.

"**I** was going to defeat that one, Sonic! Urgh…"

"Ahem, anyway…" Link began, scooting away from Amy scolding her "husband". "Which way should we go, Mario?"

"I say to the right, since we have no way to get to that upper left door," Peach replied instead. Mario gave Peach a look before thinking up a decision. He had wanted to stick to his original plan of staying right…but something about that upper left door was getting to him. Without warning anybody, Mario ventured into 3-D.

Amy, who was apparently still not accustomed to the ability to flip between dimensions, yelped when Mario suddenly disappeared. "What the- where'd Mario go?"

Before anyone could answer, Peach pointed behind everyone to a yellow block with double arrows suddenly flipping into existence underneath the door they fell from. Three others appeared next to it, then Mario reemerged into the second dimension.

"What did you do?"

Mario just shrugged- he had just found a secret, that was all. He climbed up onto the newly accessible yellow platform, then bounded onto the one under the upper left door. Mario waited for everyone to follow before heading on through.

. . .

"…this room definitely does not scream "basement"," Sonic stated the second his gaze fell onto the room. It was a dulled shade of rose pink, with classy, yet faded, beams holding up an upper floor of the room. However, there was no way to get up onto the upper part, so Peach prepared to exit out the only other accessible door in their reach. Mario grabbed her arm before she made a move and shook his head.

"Hm? I doubt there's anything else here, Mario…"

Link wagged a finger. "ah-ah! You lack the skill for adventure! Remember? When in doubt, flip about-"

"-and if that doesn't work go crazy with Tippi." Peach finished, sighing.

"Exactly. So we'll flip into 3-D, and if that doesn't work, scan the place with Tippi. And if THAT doesn't work, THEN we go through the other door. That's how we roll!"

"Uh-huh…"

"Sometimes Link makes being kidnapped look like a pleasure," scoffed Amy, getting Sonic and Mario to snicker lightly. Link simply snapped his fingers and entered 3-D, pretending not to hear Amy's comment. Once there, he discovered a similar set of dimensional-switching blocks that Mario had found previously. He jumped up onto the lower set so he could reach the upper set, jumping under then and swapping them to 2-D. Link leaped back down, then flipped the rest of the blocks to 2-D as well.

"Fellow team who makes fun of me constantly…" Link chirped upon returning. "…I have found a hidden set of stairs!"

Sonic wasted no time in taking a huge leap onto the first set of blocks in one bound. Link gave Peach and Amy a smug look, and then climbed up after Sonic.

"This is going to be a long journey…" Peach sighed, delicately jumping onto the platform as well.

Mario: You said it…

"There's another presence in the room…" Tippi suddenly whispered, Peach overhearing her soft voice.

"Huh? Who could it-"

"Ah, yes, how very nice…thanks for coming! Thank you twice!"

Perched on the upper part of the room was none other than Merlee, looking perfectly fine, if not flourishing.

"Mysterious and so lovely, mistress of the house, you see…it is me, Merlee! I shine on, such as my lot, a sun to those fate to be brought…and I knew I'd see you buzz on by, little bees. Hee hee hee hee hee!"

Mario: Hi!

"Wait…anyone else find this a little too convenient? Are we really going to stroll up to her, request the Pure Heart, and be on our merry way?" Sonic ranted. "What happened to this 'evil one'? And we didn't even kick anything's butt-"

"Get a grip, man!"

"Sorry…but I sense a trap."

"We've come seeking the Pure Heart…" Tippi spoke up, not taking her eyes off of Sonic, whom was eyeing Merlee suspiciously himself.

"Oh yes, of course I know! The Pure Heart for Mario!…and Co.!"

Mario nodded, but then became wary of Merlee. Merlee had warned them to be careful if they found her…plus when Sonic sensed a trap, he wasn't wrong.

"For you, yes, I'll gladly part with that purest Pure Heart. Mmm, but there is a wee fee: yes, yes, 10,000,000 Rubees! Quite a bargain, you agree?"

"That tears it- I'm not trusting this woman!"

"Sonic…"

"So, folks, if you'd be dears, sign this dotted line here, and it's yours, free and clear!"

"Mario, so help me if you don't refuse-"

All Mario needed to do was shoot Sonic a glare that screamed that he wasn't planning to, and the hedgehog shut up. He turned back to Merlee and casually declined the offer. Merlee simply shrugged.

"If you lack the Rubees now, a smallish loan I could allow. You can work it off somehow. Just sign here, my dear…"

Mario: My dear?

"Ugh, she's one of those ones that never takes no for an answer…" grumbled Link. "The answer…is still NO, Merlee!"

"…OK. Here's what we'll do. Have I got a deal for you! Sign up for a loan, and boom! A free gift! Away with gloom! A Super Mega Ultra Shroom!"

Link's determined expression instantly transformed. "Did you just say Super Mega Ultra Shroom-"

"Does that even exist, Link?" Amy questioned while rolling her eyes.

"She's trying to get in your head, man!" squalled Sonic. "Don't fall for her lies!"

"But it sounds even better than an Ultra Shroom…and that's saying something!"

Mario: *face palm*

"I guarantee that there's no Super Mega Ultra Shroom, Link," Peach stated. She then turned to Merlee and gave a sweet grin. "Sorry, but we're still going to refuse."

"No! Peach-"

"Ugh, fine, you bargain hard, I'll also throw in Breadward, a Pixl made of oats and lard! Isn't that so nice of me? I'm the best, don't you see? Here, dear, sign and cheer…"

"Now this is just getting sad…"

"Listen lady! If Sonic doesn't trust you, then I certainly don't either! Our minds are not changing- NO!" Amy exasperated. Merlee narrowed her eyes dangerously and started angrily jumping up and down.

"NYAAAAH! Idiots, the lot of you! Turning down such a coup! None of you have a clue! Here it is, your last shot: sign right now, on the dot!"

Sonic grinned, flashing a perfect smile. "No."

The gang struck battle stances, but then glanced overhead to see the vision Merlee appear again.

_"Good choice, for my sake…This Merlee's a total fake…listen not! She is a snake!"_

And with that, she vanished again, leaving the group with the obvious impostor.

"Mimimimimimimimimimimimimi! No point in trying to fool anyone now…" the fake Merlee huffed sinisterly; her high-pitched tone suddenly changed to a darker one. In a puff of purple-black smoke emerged Mimi, looking evil yet cute as can be. (Oh no, more rhymes!)

She turned to them, her beady black eyes glaring with hatred and her voice dripping with dangerous sarcasm. "Gee, lookie here! The girl you thought was a handmaid or a Merlee impostor…She's actually the faithful servant of Count Bleck, master impersonator Mimi!"

Mario: I knew it!

Mimi then stared dead ahead at Link. "And you, idiot! Apparently I hit you on the head a little too hard, by golly! It was a shame you couldn't even remember ME! You made my tricks way too easy…"

"Why is she still rhyming?" Amy wondered. Link, meanwhile, was twitching uncontrollably.

"Who ARE you…I **DO** know you, don't I?"

"Does this ring a bell, Scrub?" Mimi smirked, transforming into Malon briefly. "I ought to hit you on the head again to make you lose more of your memory!"

Link's pupils practically shrunk upon the realization. "No…all this time…bad guy…"

"Uh, Link? How do you know her?" Sonic asked, but was ignored. Link's anger seemed to heighten.

"Uh oh…." Peach and Amy trailed, exchanging glances.

"Grrrr…" Link growled deeply, unsheathing his sword and pointing it dead at Mimi. "YOU! You're the one who crashed my wedding! I'm so stupid! How come I didn't see that before! I'm going to make you PAY!"

Sonic did a double take. "What…did he say wedding?"

Mimi transformed back into her normal self and folded her arms. "Sorry to ruin your special day with your fiancée, but it was the Count's orders! She did a good job of fighting back, but Nassie managed to finally break the princess. Perhaps if you weren't unconscious on the floor, you could've done something!"

"You ruined my and Zelda's wedding, you IMP!"

"_Say what? ! _He had a wedding and didn't tell any of us?"

"Sonic, this is really not the best place to bring that up again-" Peach started to say, also preparing to fight if necessary. Sonic whirled around and stared hard at Peach.

"Did you just say_ again_? What am I missing here?"

Mario: I know right?

"That was my fault…" Amy admitted. "Zelda had informed me of what happened, I told Peach, then I spewed it out and accidentally told Mario about it…"

"Can we deal with that issue later, please?" Link requested, gritting his teeth. A look of pain flashed in Sonic's eyes.

_"Man…"_

Mimi saw Link preparing to attack and continued her speech. "Golly, I was hoping we could settle this peacefully, but…TOO BAD! Oh, you want to make things ugly, huh? Well, that's super. Let's get ugly. TRUE MIMI, COME FORTH!"

Any previous emotions anyone had were quickly washed away with the same thought of: "What the heck is she going to do?"

She went stone still, the only thing moving was her head. Everyone cringed when her neck made a sickening crack, causing her head to spin until it ended up upside down.

"AUGH! That's just not right…" Sonic groaned. "She wasn't lying when she said 'ugly'..."

"Really didn't need to see that…" shuddered Peach, shielding her eyes.

"That sound! UGH!" complained Amy.

"I think I'm gonna be sick…" moaned Link.

Mario simply couldn't get past the soulless look in her eyes. Then, if things couldn't get any worse, her head sprouted six long, spidery legs, which were quick to upright herself as she chuckled darkly. Link let out a wail and scrambled behind an equally shaking Sonic. The rest of the group was paralyzed with fear.

"Mimimimimimimimimi…"

"YUCK!" Tippi yelled.

"Oh my goddess…she's a shape-shifting SPIDER?" Link yelped.

_"Please, my friends, beware. A barrier protects her there. In fact, it's everywhere. I think attacks may be useless against such as she." _the real Merlee informed them in vision form.

"So we can't even defeat her?" Amy whined. "Oh, that's great!"

"Attacks won't work? What shall we do?" asked Tippi.

Her answer was nothing more than a "MIMIMI!"

Merlee glared at the spider girl before returning her gaze back to Tippi. _"I suggest you flee. Come and find the real me. I am hiding, look and see! If you hurry, my magic may weaken her and save the day! Hurry, hurry, don't delay!"_

"So I take it that we'd better run, huh?" Sonic gulped. Everyone nodded before they bolted through the door behind Mimi, screaming all the while. "…Oh man! Bats! BATS!"

"So Link hates spiders and Sonic hates bats. What's next- Mario's afraid of Squigs?" Amy scoffed as Sonic started dancing around to scare off the purple bats. Mario looked around nervously while Link shot her a look.

"Okay, this is not the time to start dropping jokes while we're running from a mighty-morphin' spider shifter!" Link scolded.

"Oh, just like how it isn't the time to get on your case about you getting married without informing anyone?" Sonic retorted coldly after taking out the two Swoopers in the room.

"_Yes_, just like that!"

Mario glanced over his shoulder, making sure Mimi wasn't too close to their tail, but then literally jumped into the air upon seeing her materialize out of nowhere. He quickly looked for the way out, but there wasn't another door!

…however there WAS a crack in the floor…

"Mimimimimimi…"

"EEK!"

Not missing a beat, Mario used Slim's power to slenderize everyone, causing them all to slip through the tiny crack just as Mimi launched out a Rubee to hit them with. It barely missed Amy's heels.

"Meep!"

"Come on!"

At the bottom of the crack they fell through was the next door. The boys bolted right on through during which Peach had to grab Amy's wrist and drag her behind. The next room had a bright sea green enemy crawling around, being a type of Cursya, as Tippi informed them.

"I'll get it!" Amy shouted, making a mad dash to bop it.

"Careful Amy- if you touch it, you'll get cursed!" Tippi cried.

Amy managed to bring her hammer down right on it without even touching it, to everyone's relief. But for stalling that slight bit of time caused Mimi to catch up with them again.

"How'd she even managed to follow us?" Peach shrieked. "We fell down a crack!"

"She can teleport!" Link and Sonic bellowed back. Link then saw Mimi shoot another Rubee at them, this one going haywire and flying at a still pondering princess. "Peach, incoming!"

"Huh-"

She saw the sharp jewel coming her way, so she swiftly pulled out her parasol and ducked under it. Link was going to comment on how that probably wouldn't work, until the Rubee made contact with the parasol, and Peach took absolutely no damage.

"It's indestructible," Peach smirked.

"Evil! Evil!" Amy wailed, flying out from nowhere and trying to get Mimi to back off. She struck the spider (who was actually revealed to be a robot, as Mario discovered when he went into 3-D) with her mallet, even though it was already known that it wouldn't work. Peach started to yell at her to get moving and quit wasting time when both of them suddenly appeared next to Mario, Link, and Sonic, who had taken control, flipped into 3-D, and made their way onto an upper door to the right.

"You'll never get out of here as long as I'm around!" Mimi hissed, doing rapid fire with her Rubees. Mario threw the door open, Link and Sonic piled through it, all while Peach thrust her umbrella forward and reflected the Rubees off of it.

"You can't hit us either, Mimi," Peach stated, spinning on her heels and taking off after her friends. The spider-freak twitched upon hearing those words and scrambled to hurry after them.

. . .

The group stumbled into the next room, apparently not getting over their clumsiness anytime soon. Mario pointed out a mysterious crack in the wall, which Link placed Boomer in front of and blew up within seconds.

"I'll be quick…" Link promised, crawling in the hidden space. "…aw man, it's a stupid Shroom Shake!"

"Just grab it and go, man!" Sonic called. "We've gotta juice!"

"I hate Shroom Shakes…I'll take it for anyone else's sake, though…"

Mario shook his head- even when they were on a run-and-rescue mission, his friends could always find some way to veer off their original intentions. Sometimes that was a good thing….right now, while being chased by Mimi? Nope, not so much.

"Grah, I'm not waiting around to get mauled by an arachnid!" Sonic exhausted, bounding onto a wooden block and leaping up onto the upper right door's platform. Peach and Amy were prompt to follow, Mario being the only one to wait for Link. The Hero of Time came crawling back out, a Shroom Shake indeed in his possession. Mario grabbed him and brought him up to the upper door before Mimi showed up. Being in a hurry made people do strange things…

. . .

"Quick, we need Boomer!" Peach shouted, pointing at the Shlurps grazing about the room. Sonic shook his head and, in a leap frog-like fashion, hopped over both of them and performed a perfect ten landing in front of the bottom right door. Amy applauded as Boomer returned to Link's side after blowing up the first Shlurp.

"I suppose we could do that too…" shrugged Link, trying to play it off.

He went to follow Sonic, but Mario grabbed his tunic and frantically pointed at the upper left door.

"The heck, Mario? You think we should go that way instead?"

Mario nodded vigorously.

"I can't argue with you Mario…" trailed Peach. "…but there's no way to get up there!"

Sonic looked thoughtful for a brief moment. He flipped into 3-D and located more dimension-swapping blocks.

"All right!"

He hit the two of them, which were enough to get some footing to jump up onto the upper left platform.

"Mimimimimimi!" rang out, once Mimi materialized in the current room.

"She never gives up!"

Mario, Link and Peach rapidly made their way toward the door, but Amy was blocked off from the platform Sonic created by Mimi, who was devilishly approaching the female hedgehog. Peach noticed the lack of her friend and turned to look over her shoulder.

"Oh no, Amy!"

"Spiders are not supposed to be that big!" shuddered Link.

"Or robotic!" added Sonic.

"Ugh, no help?" Amy chattered, shivering up against the wall. "Some heroes…"

Mimi let out another cackle which sent chills down the group's spines, also aiming a sharp Rubee at Amy.

"Wah!"

Instinctively, Amy curled up into a protective ball, her spikes getting somewhat tougher. Peach cringed as the Rubee made harsh contact with Amy, but just like Peach's parasol, Amy's spikes left her unscathed.

"WHAT!" came the ear-splitting shriek from Mimi who had already fired two more Rubees.

"That's right!" Amy barked, uncurling just as the second Rubee struck her and sending it back where it came from. "You can't touch me either!"

"Go Amy!" cheered Sonic and Peach. Amy smirked and threw Thoreau at the third Rubee that had fallen uselessly onto the ground. She chucked it back at Mimi, rendering her unable to move for a few moments. Mario jumped onto Mimi's head and held out a hand for Amy to grab. She grinned and took it, Mario flinging her for Link to catch and told the rest of them to get going.

"Grrr…well, I know YOU can't get away!" Mimi growled, being able to move again and heaving Mario into the wall where Amy was once cornered. He grunted, his back making a loud thud upon contact. However, she was right- he wasn't able to make himself briefly invincible like Peach and Amy could.

Another thing they'd probably brag about later on.

For the meantime though, Mario only had a few seconds to figure out how to avoid the Rubees set to rain down on his head. He caught sight of Slim out of the corner of his eye and instantaneously used his power to slenderize. Standing completely still, Mario received no damage as well.

He couldn't resist smirking in triumph when Mimi cried out in agony at failing to cause any pain once again. Staying slim, he maneuvered his way under Mimi, going still whenever she attempted to attack. This frustrated her to no end.

"UGH! What's the point of me being invincible if you jerk-heads are invincible as well?" she hissed. "Wait. I can still go after my blue slave AND that idiot elf guy…they're afraid of me, plus they have no means of protection! HA!"

Mario rolled his eyes- they were just as capable of defending themselves as the next guy…though it was true Sonic and Link weren't invincible. He finally managed to get around Mimi and reached the platform containing the door that his friends were behind.

"What took you so long, Mario?" Peach questioned, ducking under a huge Boo that was gliding around.

"Keep distracting it!" Link, Sonic, and Amy all yelled, trying to jump onto it and strike it with their weapons. Peach pouted at all of them and just kept running around. Finally, when she had it facing away from them, Link hacked at it with his sword, Sonic spin dashed it violently, and Amy dealt a final blow with a deadly hammer strike.

"All right! Cool!" Amy cheered.

"But how do we get up to that door?" groaned Link. "There's nothing in 3-D…"

"And Mimi's coming!"

"Remember your motto, Link?" Peach questioned, smugly raising an eyebrow. She pointed at a darkened spot on the wall, using Tippi's powers to hopefully uncover something. Link face palmed, especially when Tippi said:

"There are stairs hidden here…I'll make them visible…"

The very second they were visible, all five of them made a mad sprint to that door and nearly pulled it off its hinges upon opening. The following room held a boys 'bathroom and a girls' bathroom, with a ? block off to the side. Link hit it and claimed a Super Shroom…that he didn't need.

"ARGH! Blasphemy! And I'm still stuck with a Shroom Shake and a Poison Mushroom…"

"It's obviously a dead end!" gulped Amy. "Uh…which bathroom do we go in?"

"Do you see me going in the girls' room?" Link and Sonic yelped simultaneously.

"Do you see me going into the boys' room?" cringed Peach.

Mario: …split up?

The other four exchanged glances while nodding in agreement. Mario, Link, and Sonic ventured into the male washroom while Peach and Amy entered the female one.

"I bet Merlee is more likely in this one anyway," Peach shrugged.

"I hope you're right, Peach…" Amy moaned. "But…I do find it odd that the guys are probably more afraid of Mimi than we are…"

"The only thing that scares me about that imp is that transformation of hers!" Peach shuddered. "Urrr…"

"Merlee…Merlee…come out, come out so we can see you!" Amy coaxed, looking around.

Peach sighed and pushed the first door to a stall open. No one was there. "We should probably check the stalls, Amy…"

"Oh, alright."

They alternated opening them (and reading the juicy graffiti gossip inside) until Peach opened the third one from the left.

"Hee hee hee hee!"

"Ack! Is that the man-eating toilet Sonic told me about?" Amy cried, jumping back a few feet.

Peach: ?

Out of the very toilet came Merlee, looking sad and quite soggy. (Not again…)

"Hee hee hee hee! Found me! The real Merlee!"

"Who smells a tiny bit stinky…" murmured Amy, grabbing her nose. Peach folded her arms and glanced at her friend.

"I believe she didn't really have a choice!"

"I shine on, such is my lot, a sun to those fate to me brought…"

She jumped off the toilet and stretched, her hair flinging back out into its mysterious and colorful hairstyle. Merlee trotted over to face Peach and Amy.

"The real Merlee? Truly? In a place like this?" Tippi instigated.

"I'm afraid that Mimi freak was too robust, and I too weak…The Pure Heart I quickly took and hid where she would never look. But now you're here: hooray! This bad tide will turn today! Soon that awful Mimi pays...You and I can now join up to teach that pup a lesson: now let's power up!"

Peach and Amy broke out into grins and nodded eagerly.

"Oooh…I don't think so…" emerged from the other side of the door. This was interrupted by a high-pitched scream that came from next door, follow by obviously loud trampling and Team Mario bursting through the girls' bathroom door.

"Mimi appeared in the guys' bathroom!" Link howled, plainly still shaken up.

"I'll never be the same again…" quivered Sonic. He then looked over to Amy and Peach, who were gawking at them along with Merlee. "Oh good, you found Merlee…should have figured she was in the girls' bathroom…"

"This embarrassment is a small price to pay to get away from her!"

To their horror, she teleported into the room nevertheless. Link groaned in defeat, he and Sonic dashing to hide behind Peach and Amy who were both looking ready to fight if necessarily. Mario stood in front of them all and gave Mimi the staredown of the century. Merlee looked up with a horrified expression.

"MIMI!"

"Mimimimimimimimimi…" she chanted as she crawled closer and closer to the charmer and the group of heroes. Standing completely above Merlee, Mimi copied her image and transformed into Merlee once again.

"OH. GREAT."

* * *

**Okay, Boss Weekend _will_ be next weekend...let's just hope that nothing chaotic interrupts it this time. :P**


	15. Mimi, Who is Really a Spider

Super Paper Mario X

Chapter 14: Mimi, Who is Really a Spider

_"Oooh…I don't think so…" emerged from the other side of the door. This was interrupted by a high-pitched scream that came from next door, follow by obviously loud trampling and Team Mario bursting through the girls' bathroom door._

_"Mimi appeared in the guys' bathroom!" Link howled, plainly still shaken up._

_"I'll never be the same again…" quivered Sonic. He then looked over to Amy and Peach, who were gawking at them along with Merlee. "Oh good, you found Merlee…should have figured she was in the girls' bathroom…"_

_"This embarrassment is a small price to pay to get away from her!"_

_To their horror, she teleported into the room nevertheless. Link groaned in defeat, he and Sonic dashing to hide behind Peach and Amy who were both looking ready to fight if necessarily. Mario stood in front of them all and gave Mimi the staredown of the century. Merlee looked up with a horrified expression._

_"MIMI!"_

_"Mimimimimimimimimi…" she chanted as she crawled closer and closer to the charmer and the group of heroes. Standing completely above Merlee, Mimi copied her image and transformed into Merlee once again._

_"OH. GREAT."_

_. . ._

"Stop pretending to be me! Everyone knows you are Mimi! Come on, friends! Attack! We can drive her back!" the first one shouted, infuriated with rage.

"What is this you talk about? You're the faker! And a lout! Don't be fooled by her act! Get her now! Now! Attack!" the second yelled back.

"It's me! The real Merlee!"

"No, it's_ me_, the true Merlee!"

"Look at us very closely. One of us has real beauty…and one is as fake as can be."

The second Merlee stopped her jumping fit and rolled her eyes. "Oh, please, you make gag. I am hot; no need to brag. And you…well, you're a hag."

"Grr! What a fib-maker! You're such a fake faker!"

"Oh, now, come off it dear! You're a dog from ear to ear! And your breath reeks, I fear."

"Big Pig!" "Chow Cow!"

They got into a very weak scuffle, throwing themselves at each other and ricocheting off until they couldn't take it anymore…which didn't last very long.

"This is going nowhere, see…Let's let them pick a Merlee and settle it: do you agree?" huffed the one that was standing closer to the group.

"Sounds like a good thought. Cause I'm the real me (hot) and you really are not."

"Hee hee hee hee…Oh, how much do you amuse! You're a fake! You will lose!"

"Hee hee hee hee…You're fake, you stupid fake! We all know you're the snake!"

"Gah, somebody end this!" Sonic wailed.

"At least she currently isn't a spider," Link pointed out meekly.

"IT'S ON, CON!" the Merlees screamed at the same time.

The setting suddenly changed from a bathroom to the setting of a game show, which shocked the heck out of everyone involved.

"…how in the world did that HAPPEN?" questioned Link. "Bathrooms do NOT just transform into game shows!"

"No point in questioning logic…" shrugged Sonic. "Though I will admit this is unexpected."

"Mercy…" Tippi murmured. Mario glanced over to the guy who was apparently hosting this thing- it was a high-tech square, with a top hat, bow tie, and digital face. Mario remembered back when Thwomps hosted things like this, but hey, it wasn't the stone age anymore.

"IIIIT'S the 66th Annual… "That's My Merlee!" show! How're you folks doing? Let's get going! You're gonna ask these two Merlees a total of FIVE questions! Listen closely to those answers, 'cause at the end, you gotta pick the real one! Oh, but that's not all! Pick wrong, and there could de di-SAS-trous results!"

"A quiz?" Peach questioned bluntly. "Really? A _quiz?"_

"A quiz!" exclaimed Amy.

Silence.

"…it's not the same without Zelda."

Link winced. Sonic half glared, half gave a pity look. Mario was wondering if they were ever going to get themselves out of this hole they were digging.

"Now, for our first question!" he turned to the gang who was still somewhat awestuck.

"Uh…any question?"

"That is correct!"

"What are you into?" Sonic randomly blurted out. Everyone turned, donning confused looks. "…what? It's a decent question!"

"This one's about hobbies! What are you into lately?"

"Catalougues for crystal balls, that's where my interest falls," the first Merlee explained.

"I like watching rerun shows of "Super Ultra Goomba Bros.!""

"Ooh, VERRRY interesting!"

"This is so lame!"

"Ooh! Can I do the next one?" Amy begged. "I've got a good one!"

"Does it somehow involve me?" Sonic retorted sarcastically.

"No, it does not, thank you very much, husband!"

"I'm not your husband!"

Mario: Go ahead Amy.

"Thank you, Mario…ahem…" she went from irritated to bubbly as she turned to the Merlees. "What guy's your type?"

"We'd all like to know this next one, am I right, fellas? Drumroll, please! What kind of guy's your type?"

"Hee hee…I love them all, see…Nope! No type for me!"

"Oh, how can I share when…the guy's right there."

"Ooh, VERRRRRY interesting! Next question, please!"

"This is going to take awhile…" muttered Link. "I guess I'll go next though…"

"I wonder if she was talking about me-"

SLAP.

"OW! Amy!"

"You don't even know if that's the real Merlee or not!"

"…decent point. She can swoon over Link."

"Nuh-uh! I bet it's Mario!"

Mario: Nah, I'm good.

Link and Sonic started debating over that, making Peach grimace and ask the next question in Link's stead. "When's your birthday?"

"What day did I arrive? Oh yes, March, day 25!"

"I bloomed in May, 5th was the day!"

"Oh, indeed, indeed!"

"Okay…"

"More rhyme!"

"Time for another question!"

"I believe it's MY turn now," Link stated, sending Peach a look. "Let's see…what do you want the most?"

"What a great QUESTION! What do you want the most right now?"

"Crystal ball. The newest kind! Nice ones are hard to find!"

"I want a boyfriend, please! I'd love a guy to squeeze!"

"Well, what do you know? Now! Time for our final question folks! Excitement! Which will it be?"

Everyone turned to Mario, who was pondering over what he should say, and not just that, the Merlees as well.

"Okay Mario…pick something highly intricate, and requires such a detailed answer that we'll HAVE to be able to figure out who is who!"

Mario: What's your favorite food?

"Ooh! What a critical question!

"_SO_ not what I meant…"

Mario only shrugged…he had a feeling he knew which Merlee was real anyway, so whatever question he asked was all the same to him.

"Strawberries! Ooh, yummies!"

"Tangerines! That's my scene!"

"Well, folks, those were all five questions!"

"Five FAIL questions…"

"So…which one is the real Merlee? Search in your minds! LET'S HAVE A GUESS!"

"Mario, please tell me you've thought of something…" Peach begged. Mario gave a confident smile in return, then pointed to the Merlee on the left. He was pretty sure that the real Merlee would smell terrible after being in a toilet…and have a fly buzzing around her.

"Are you suuuuure about that? Think good and hard, folks!"

Mario: Yes.

"Well, enough suspense! Let's see if the one you picked is the real Merlee…a fateful moment, folks! I'm on pins and needles!"

Everyone braced themselves in case Mario was wrong, but considering he was Mario, they had full trust in him. They waited…and waited…and waited…and waited some more.

"DING! RIGHT!"

"Hee hee hee hee! Well, of course, obviously!" scoffed Merlee, rubbing it in Mimi's face. "Nobody could copy me!"

"Stupid-heads! I mimicked her perfectly! You know it!" snarled Mimi, enraged. I guess I'll congradulate you…by tearing you into little bits like stupid confetti!"

She turned back to her "normal" form (not her "true" form) along with the bathroom reverting back to what it looked like previously. The whole gang was ready to take Mimi on…until she cracked her neck again.

"My gosh, how I hate her…" Link sneered. "She ruined what was supposed to be the best day of my life…and I can't even get revenge because she freaks the Triforce outta me."

Merlee glanced around while sweat dropping furiously, Mimi readjusting to her true form after her spider legs sprouted from her head again.

"U-rr…URK! URK!"

That did it for Merlee- she was out of the bathroom faster than Sonic could have. Not that he could now, considering the door was now locked and the team was trapped in the bathroom with a huge spider. Don't you hate when that happens?

"I will cheer from over here! Rah! Rah! Whoosh-bing-bag! Hit 'er in the knee! …if she has one. Does she?"

"Heeheeheeeheeheee….she's a fast one, isn't she? Oh, golly, well, whatever…I'll finish you off first! Mimimimimimi!"

Mimi speed toward the group, her and her invicibility backing them into the corner again. However, instead of attacking directly, she climbed onto the ceiling and started to drop Rubees. Peach and Amy went into defense mode while Link and Sonic ran into a stall. Mario thought it over- perhaps Peach and Amy would be better for this particular fight…

"Oh Mario, can we take on Mimi, please?" Peach pleaded, peeking out from under her parasol. "I can do it; I know I can!"

"I've got her back, Mario! We'll do it together!" added Amy.

"They do deserve a chance to show what they've got…" Sonic trailed.

"And we don't just say that because we're scared- I mean, stuck in this stall," added Link.

Mario turned to the girls and gave a single nod. He was sure they could pull it off too, and besides, if anything went wrong, his team would be right there if needed. It was weird to say- Mario was sitting out on a boss fight.

"Okay Amy!" Peach announced, coming out from under the parasol. "Let's get to work!"

"But we can't hurt her-"

"I at least want her off the ceiling."

"Right!"

"We've got this one in the bag!" Peach and Amy giggled, slapping a high five.

Mimi crawled around above their heads, unnerving the males hiding in the stalls greatly. Merlee's chants could be heard from the door, but no one took too much particular interest in that. Mimi dropped another Rubee, which Peach deflected toward Amy's direction. The pink hedgehog used Thoreau to grab it, then gave it a hearty toss up at Mimi. Not only did it knock her down, but she took some damage as well!

"This makes things even better!" cheered Peach. She didn't miss a beat as she jumped up, landing perfectly on Mimi's square head while Amy jumping up from underneath Mimi and jabbing the bottom side of her head with the Rubee. Mimi was simply stunned that she was actually feeling some pain for once.

"But…what? Why can you damage me? I'm supposed to be all INVINCIBLE! Count Bleck's power was supposed to protect me!"

"Rah! Rah! Whoosh-bing-bah! You can hit her now, dears. For these are no normal cheers! This cheer is magic, woo! Her magic barrier is through!" Merlee chimed.

"Whaaat?" screeched Mimi. "When did this happen? Eeek! I feel completely naked! How could you?"

"Isn't seeing you transform into a spider enough?" snorted Sonic, still in the stall.

Back with the action, Peach and Amy were developing a way to take down Mimi. She was still wavering about, dizzy from the last barrage, so Peach gave her another taste of her princess heels, unintentionally but successfully breaking off one of her legs. She landed back on the floor, also pointing at Mimi and using Tippi's ability within the same move.

"That's Mimi. She's a slightly childish shape-shifter that works for Count Bleck…Max HP is ? And Attack is 1. Just go for the head when you attack…she will briefly stop when she gets hit…That is when you should go on the attack… She might also hang from the ceiling and throw Rubees at you…"

"Thanks Tipps!" chirped Link.

"Glad I could be of assistance…"

"So basically we just break her legs off?" Amy asked, then recoiling afterward. Peach nodded while watching Mimi crawl to the other side of the room

"That's the plan."

Mimi then unleashed a wave of Rubees at the girls, sent to slice them in half. Peach ducked into her umbrella, Amy ducked into her ball form, and both of them "rode the wave" and took no damage at all. Mimi dizzily chucked another Rubee, but Amy uncurled out ball form and sent it right back, directly targeting her evil green square head. Peach then jumped on Mimi while she was discombobulated, snapping off the second leg.

"Get down!" Peach barked as Mimi summoned another wave of Rubees at them. The girl went into defense mode, protecting themselves against Mimi's barrage of odd attacks. Amy then sprung out of hiding and slammed her hammer right onto Mimi's head, making her shake uncontrollably once more. Merlee snickered from beyond the door.

"Hee hee on you, dearie! Now you shall see the way a good cheer wins the day!"

"Grrr-"

"UNH!" Peach yelled, striking Mimi again, then spinning stylishly away. The spider cried out when the third leg was almost instantly snapped off after the second one. Scowling at the girls who were easily beating her, Mimi reverted her legs to the ceiling and started crawling around up there.

"That is SO creepy…"

"Get ready…" Peach warned, taking a grip on her umbrella while Amy grabbed Thoreau. Mimi dropped a Rubee, sent to land on Peach. The princess pulled into her umbrella, rendering the Rubee useless as it bounced off. Amy tossed Thoreau again, grabbing the Rubee, and throwing it to Peach who was now in midair. She caught it and jammed it into Mimi.

"They're good…" Sonic admitted, nodding his head in approval. Mario couldn't argue with that.

"No no no no NO!" Mimi howled, tumbling off the ceiling again. Peach wasted no time in jumping on her, Amy following up with another clonk from her mallet. She struck a stylish pose while Mimi's fourth leg was detached.

"This is easy…" she hummed, glancing at Link and Sonic who were giving her huge grins and thumb ups.

"Go Team Peach!" Merlee cheered.

"Team ZAP!" Amy corrected.

"Oh…yes! Yes! Our team's the best! GOOO TEAM!"

"Look out!" Peach cried, ducking back into her parasol upon another Rubee wave coming on.

"What? Oops-"

The wave slammed into the off guard Amy, sending her up into the air a small ways before falling onto the floor. Peach emerged from her umbrella to help Amy up, Mimi retreating back to the ceiling.

"You all right?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine…let's just focus on defeating Mimi!"

Peach smiled and nodded, then veered to the left after catching sight of a falling Rubee. She ran to the left side of the room to get Mimi to follow her while Amy grabbed the next Rubee.

"Batter up!" she teased, tossing the Rubee into the air and striking it with her hammer. It plowing straight into the side of Mimi's head, Team Mario gaping at the sight. "Home run!"

Mimi practically lurched when she fell off the ceiling, Peach rolling out of the way. Mimi's facial expression was all the princess needed to see to realized that she was ticked. Rubees went flying in several directions but Peach was able to deflect them all without a problem. Seeing Amy struggle to avoid a few of them, Peach attempted to pull a Rubee out of the floor, but that was impossible without Thoreau.

"Mimimimimimi…"

Amy cried out in her ball form, not daring to move while the rain of Rubees was coming down on her. Peach scowled, gave up on the Rubee, and ran for Mimi.

"Urgh, knock that off!" Peach snapped. "And leave Amy alone!"

She jumped up, parasol held high above her head, until she glided directly above Mimi and brought it down hard.

"YOWCH!"

"Now, Amy, get her!" Peach ordered. She continued to pounce on Mimi to make sure she wouldn't scramble away. Amy scooped up a Rubee while running at Mimi, forcing it upwards just as she passed under Mimi's head. Her second to last leg came off. She was on the verge of defeat!

"How in this world can she stand on one leg like that?" questioned Sonic. "Can we go anywhere without the laws of psychics being broken?"

"You're one to talk- have you seen your world?" retorted Link. "Around every corner is something illogical!"

Mario, who was more focused on the fight than his companions were, silently cheered for Peach and Amy. They exchanged a secret glance as Mimi climbed back onto the ceiling one more time with her only leg.

"You're mine…" she bellowed, creating more Rubees to impale her opponents. Peach and Amy jumped away and rolled their eyes.

"That's what you think!" they exclaimed at the same time, Amy grabbing two Rubees and passing one to Peach. Then the both leapt into the air, jabbing Mimi with each of their jewels. Mimi hopelessly collapsed to the ground -especially with only one mere leg- but she still wasn't about to give up easily. She unleashed yet another Rubee-wave at the girls, once again easily avoided by their defensive technique.

"All right, Amy, are you ready?" Peach asked, preparing herself. Amy whipped out her hammer and winked back.

"But of course! Let's do it!"

"You still think you can defeat me?" mocked Mimi, not daring to embrace the thought of losing. Peach smiled in amusement, jumping into Amy's palms and getting a boosted jump.

"Mimi, we might as well call you defeated now."

Instantly after Peach had been flung into the air, Amy whacked Mimi senselessly, allowing Peach a clear shot to fall back down with an outstretched Rubee onto Mimi. As soon as Peach made the final sharp strike, Mimi's final leg detached and what was left of her body plopped to the floor.

"Mimimimimiurgh…B-but how could you…It's impossible…How…"

"It's not that hard to crush a spider with six legs sticking out her head," Peach said proudly with her arms folded, Mimi beginning to explode in defeat again. However, out of the eruption came her "normal" form, Mimi slightly slouching and her eye twitching. At least she was actually sporting her yellow dress instead of a creepy lifeless dangling body.

"Urrrk-urk…URK! URK! Don't think you've beaten me for good, dummies! Next time you won't be so lucky…remember that! Stupid-heads! URRRRRRRRK!"

She angrily hovered into the air, heading for the hills by teleporting back to Count Bleck. Mario, Link, and Sonic poured out of the stalls while Peach and Amy congratulated each other.

"You did great!" they laughed at the same time.

"No, you got the final blow, Peach," Amy insisted.

"I couldn't have done it without your help though." Peach pointed out.

"You both were kickin' butt!" stated Sonic, starting to throw his hands upwards but then thinking twice and settling for a thumbs up.

"I'm quite impressed, I must admit!" Link said with a smile. Mario grinned at them as well, making the Team ZAP members beam with pride.

"Thanks you guys!" they replied brightly. The gang all gathered together when Merlee returned to the room, looking just as excited and bubbly as the girls were.

"Fine job on that Mimi, yes! The Pure Heart's safe, evil's repressed. You know, the tenants here guarded it for 1,500 years, waiting for you to draw near! Finally, that duty's done, and I'm ecstatic, for one. But wait, ere we finish up, I must tell you something, yup."

"Whatever could it be?" wondered Peach, tilting her head curiously.

"So, the Light Prognosticus was read by you, yes?"

"The Light what?" guffawed Sonic and Amy.

"We'll fill you in on that later. That's one of the books I mentioned earlier," stated Link, hushing them.

"_One_ of the books-?"

"It was written there that I and my ancestors waited by the Pure Heart, staying spry…but something wasn't written there, and of it, you must be aware. There is another prophecy: a heart of chaos can only be beaten by four teams of mystery... Four teams of heroes unite, their hope burns forth light to shatter the walls of blight. That is how despair, it dies, such is what we prophesize here in the home of the wise."

"Four teams…of heroes…" echoed Peach.

"I am sure the pair of you, Team Mario and Peach, you too, are the first teams of heroes true." Merlee informed, a secret sparkle in her eye.

"That's Team ZAP! Man…" jeered Amy.

"Plus we don't even have our full teams here!" exclaimed Sonic. Merlee simply shrugged.

"So then it falls to you to find the other heroes too. I would guess, if I had to, the others might be known to you."

"Well, maybe it WAS fate our teams are slowly coming together after all…" pondered Link. "And if I had to guess for the other two teams, I'd say Team B.E.G and Team Luigi!"

"However the only problem with that is that we don't have a clue where any members of their teams ended up at," Sonic reminded him.

"And who knows? What if we run into some new team of people that are familiar to us as well?" shrugged Amy.

Mario knew better than anyone else to expect the unexpected. He turned to Merlee, who was fumbling with something vigorously in her pocket.

"Now, finally, let me be! I hereby do my sworn duty! There! From me it parts! Here, heroes! A Pure Heart!"

At long last, the third Pure Heart arose from Merlee's possession, brightening the room with its yellow aura. Mario and Link smiled at the sight while Peach, Amy, and Sonic gasped in awe.

"That's what a Pure Heart is?" gawked Sonic.

"It's beautiful…" whispered Peach.

"And quite powerful," added Tippi.

The Pure Heart floated above Peach's head, making the fair princess gasp. She glanced over her shoulder at Mario, as if wanting confirmation that her taking it was alright. Mario gave her the nod to go ahead.

"You took out Mimi, didn't you? The least you could get for an award!" shrugged Link.

"Aw, can't I take it?" complained Sonic. "I had absolutely no significance since I've arrived!"

"Easy Sonic, it'll all come back around soon…"

"What is THAT supposed to mean?"

Mario face palmed as the duo started bickering once more, but not taking his eyes off of Peach as the Pixls all danced around. The yellow Pure Heart landed in her possession, and Princess Peach held it proudly, Amy's smile just as bright as the Heart itself.

"We got a-"

"No, I want to do it Link!" Sonic interrupted, coughing afterward. "Ahem…WE GOT A PURE HEART! …wait, what? No Heart Power going up by one? No new Heart Move or something?"

"Nope. Pure Hearts just aren't as cool as stars…they're just there to be shiny."

. . .

Count Bleck's servant Mimi had laid a nasty trap for Mario and friends… but with the help of Merlee, faithful defender of the Pure Heart, the day was won. But who were the other two teams of heroes mentioned by Merlee? With five Pure Hearts yet to be found, Mario knew this adventure had only begun…

* * *

**Internet was down yesterday, nearly forgot to put this up today, and I still hope I don't get jinxed tomorrow. ^^**


	16. Team Luigi's Last Stand

Super Paper Mario X

Chapter 15: Team Luigi's Last Stand

"…yeah, so I just got a brief memo from Mimi? It says, "I messed up bad!" …that's the message in its entirety. Yeah…"

"Bleh heh heh heh heh…she failed to best him, even with my gift of power? A Light Prognosticus hero…Descendants of the ancient tribe…their strength grows."

"COUNT BLECK!" O'Chunks blared, falling onto his platform. "I beg yeh, gimme the honor o' wailin' on this pack o' nambly-pamblies! I swear on me whiskers that I'll spank 'em like naughty little Cherbils, I will!"

"Oh, so, O'Chunks, yeah, you think you're all set to go?" Nastasia probed, adjusting her glasses. "So I guess you finish up that report on your own inadequacy that I needed?"

"Eah…you see…I… just got a wee bit left. I'm workin' on me conclusion. Yeh gotta gimme a break! Me writtin' takes time, lass! An' 1,000 pages be a lot!"

"O'Chunks, calm yourself. Take a minion time out," Count Bleck ordered. "Count Bleck will send…Dimentio! Come to me…Count Bleck!"

The purple and yellow wearing clad came teleporting in, using his mystical method of doing so. "And so I arrive, like a sudden windstorm at a kindergarten picnic!"

"Bleh heh heh heh…You'd like some playtime, I imagine, Dimentio? So you shall have it, but do not disappoint Count Bleck. Dispatch these heroes."

"You wish is my command. Besides, these fools sound like an amusing challenge. Now, if there is nothing else, I'll just be on my way. Ciao, my count."

Dimentio teleported away again, but the hidden smirk on his face was all too evident. Nastasia filled the awkward silence by pulling out a question for O'Chunks.

"Yes, so, O'Chunks? Can you fill me in on why you're still not writing that report?"

"A report? What are yeh…Oh…yeah. A'right. I'm goin' yeh great beard-tweaker!"

He grumbled, jumping down off his platform, with Nastasia simply fixing her glasses once more.

"Count, let me just bring you up to speed on the current state of the castle…I still have to root out a few unconverted rogues, but I'll report back soon…"

With a quaint nod, she too jumped off the side of her platform to take care of business. Count Bleck just resorted to talking to himself.

"Heroes…Trying to save these pathetic old worlds. Bleck, says Count Bleck! Bleh heh heh heh heh… Their efforts are in vain. No one can stop Count Bleck."

His pulled his hat over his eyes as he vanished, taking the Dark Prognosticus with him.

"Just as no one can ease the tempest that rages in my suffering heart…"

. . .

"Ooh…my head…"

There was music, that much he knew. And so far, that was the only thing that kept his massive headache from morphing into a migraine. It sounded so distant…but most certainly familiar. It was like a tune he had heard so long ago…six months, perhaps? The owner of the aching head sprung up, looking around.

"…hey. Where am I?" he moaned, trying to gather himself together. All his thoughts came dawning on him at once, the green plumber jumping and gasping when it hit him. "Oh yeah, I remember! I was saving Princess Peach, and I screwed it up and…"

"…you awake, Green?" called a gruff voice, entering from the left. The music Luigi had heard came to a stop and another gasp rang out.

"He is, finally! Thank the goddesses…"

Luigi, still somewhat out of it, turned to glance over his shoulder, only to find two Goombas walking up to him from either side of Malon herself. Eagerly the girl plowed herself into Luigi's arms, tight enough as if to say she didn't want to let go.

"What the…Malon?" Luigi asked in disbelief. "Is that really you? Here? Now? Really?"

Malon nodded vigorously. "Yes, it's me! And I can't believe it's really you! …it_ is_ really you and I'm not just imagining something?"

"No, I'm sure I'm me…" Luigi responded, Malon easing up on the hug a bit. "It's great to see you after so long! Really…but I don't know if I can really celebrate, considering we're in a black hole in the sky…speaking of, how'd you get here?"

Malon's blue eyes began to shimmer. "It was awful…Link and Zelda were getting married -don't be too shocked, they didn't tell anyone- and this green shape shifting girl sabotaged the whole thing, and she turned into an exact copy of me, abilities and everything! Link was murmuring something about her not being a Duplighost though, whatever that means…and get this- she and her little secretary friend can not only teleport like we can, but they can teleport other people with nothing more than a mere glance! Zelda, Ganondorf, and I got separated because of that…"

Luigi froze in terror. "Oh man, are you all right?" Malon nodded. "I was at the wedding between Bowser and Peach. I attempted to save the day, but, uh, let's just say it didn't go well…and I think I was strewn out here once the party was over."

"I'm so worried- about everyone!" sobbed Malon. "The worlds are all in danger…and not to mention Link scampered off when he saw a hypnotized Zelda marrying Ganondorf, and I have no clue where he went…I've been wandering this castle for what seems like forever!"

"Did you come across anything?" Luigi instigated.

"I found Meta Knight…but something seemed really wrong with him…" Malon whispered. Luigi's face fell.

"What do you mean by 'really wrong'?"

"He looked way different, for one. His mask was a musky gray, and his outfit was pure black with purple armor and accents…and his eyes were pure white, with a hint of red…ooh, Luigi, it was maddening!"

"Where'd he go? What happened? What did you do?"

Malon shivered slightly as she continued the tale. "Meta Knight had definitely been corrupted somehow, I'm sure of that…I saw him flying through a hall at mach speed. I swear he saw me…but he didn't do anything but give me a hard look and kept going. It scared me so much I just kept running and hiding all over the place and hoping he wouldn't find me…"

Now Luigi's mind was lost in a whirlwind. He tried to make sense of things. Malon was here along with him, due to the results of a forced marriage. Meta Knight was here somewhere as well, though from Malon's description, it seemed like he crossed over to the dark side or something, so it was most likely best to avoid him. Most importantly, however, they needed to get out of here...and apparently the 'lack of Luigi' was taking a toll on Malon, considering she was suddenly being very clingy and choosing not to release Luigi's arm.

"It's been way too long…" she trailed. "It was stupid of them to think we needed to split up like this…"

"It has been too long," Luigi agreed. Malon just kept frowning.

"What really gets to me is that if Link had invited all of us, we would've been at the first wedding and probably prevented all of this!"

"There's nothing we can do now…though I'm pretty sure us meeting like this was unintentional…"

"I found you unconscious, and I checked you over to make sure you weren't overtaken like Meta Knight…who is still flying around like a bat somewhere…to get you to wake up, I played that one song from the very first time we met…do you remember?"

"Of course I remember- how couldn't I?" Luigi said with a grin. Malon smiled back, until they were interrupted by coughing from the second Goomba.

"Eh, hello? Two Goombas who are also trapped here watching you two get gushy here!"

Malon turned pink and stepped away while Luigi nervously scratched the back of his head. "Yeah…hey there, uh, bad guys. You doing all right?"

"Yeah, we're doing okay," one piped up. "Good to see you made it! (Figured he was done…dude is tougher than he looks. )"

Luigi shifted uncomfortably. "So, yeah…kinda awkward…Say, have you guys seen the princess or Bowser?"

"Or another princess or a man in dark clothing?" asked Malon. The Goombas exchanged glances.

"Nope, not so much. You're the only one we found lying around here- or sneaking around," the second Goomba informed. "Hopefully they're both okay. (Get a load of these morons. Who cares about their friends?)"

"Near as we can figure, most of the other minions got captured or something. And we're probably next! (Why are these guys so calm? We're behind enemy lines!)"

"So…Luigi, old buddy! What do you think about maybe getting out of here? We're thinking you maybe open up a path for us…and we all bail! What'cha think?"

Luigi instantly shook his head. "No…I…I couldn't possibly! I've gotta save the princess!"

The first Goomba shook his head. "Man…wow. Did NOT expect that. All those stories about the Great Luigi's daring exploits…we'd heard you were the defender of the helpless! We have no one else!"

"Darn Rainbow Fuzzies…" murmured Malon under her breath. Luigi, however, was simply aghast that he was being referred to in such a way- in a good way.

"The G-Great Luigi, you say? A…a daring defender? …Me?" Malon then raised an eyebrow as he suddenly struck a heroically determined pose. "Then I've got no choice! Luigi must spring into action! My fans need me!"

"Oh, you are the best! (Man, that was waaaay to easy. What a sucker!)"

"We're right behind you! (But the second the going gets rough, we BAIL!)"

"Then follow ME, brave…er…Goombas! Here we go!"

"Luigi, do you even know how to get out of here?"

"I just woke up in a floor in a castle in a Void. Of course I don't. But I'll give it my best shot!"

Malon beamed. "I missed you…"

"The feeling is mutual."

"Ugh, do we have to get lead by them both?" groaned one of the Goombas. "Save the love for when everyone is safe and sound!"

"I could very easily leave you behind you know," Malon warning, tapping her foot. "I have a very nasty Boot Bash…"

The two Goombas cowered in fear and slunk behind Luigi. Luigi gave them both quizzical looks, then returned back to hero mode and entered through the nearest door. Behind it was a huge room with a rather large flight of stairs. Malon shivered.

"This is where I escaped from Meta Knight…he was in the room just before this one…" she recalled. Luigi noted her look of worry while bounding down the stairs with his impressively large hops, and reaching the door at the base of the steps.

"You saw him in this room?" Luigi questioned as he pushed the door open. It was awfully small, and didn't really have anything of significance. Malon shook her head.

"Sorry, I meant the one before this one…this room was so small I totally forgot about it!"

"Are you sure it was Meta Knight, Malon?"

"There's no mistaking that mask, wings, or his sword…he was so creepy flying down the hall like that!"

Luigi tapped his watch- currently his only connections were with Malon and Meta Knight, though he noted that Tails' and Knuckles' connections were somewhat clearer than the others.

"Do you think maybe we should contact Meta Knight?" Luigi asked.

"No! That'll give away our position! What if he's working for the bad guys now or something because of that change?"

"And what if he's not?"

"I don't want to take that chance, Luigi…if you'd seen him, you'd understand."

Luigi sighed and lowered his watch. "Okay, fine. No contacting Meta Knight. But…if the three of us are here, could Knuckles and Tails be here too?"

Malon shrugged. "Maybe, but I wouldn't know how'd they'd wind up here- I'm not even confident on how Meta Knight arrived! I just know he's lurking around somewhere."

Luigi nervously shuddered as he pushed the next door open, poking his head out for any sign of Meta Knight in the rather long corridor.

There wasn't any.

"The coast is clear…" Luigi announced, ushering Malon and the Goombas through. "For now, at least."

"Yeah…Meta Knight was flying through here. I'm certain he's gone, though," Malon stated, walking forward. "So there should be nothing to worry about."

"I'm just hoping we manage to make it out of here…" moaned Luigi. "Quite an odd way to meet with each other again, huh?"

"I'll say…not quite what I had in mind."

"Oh, and what DID you have in mind?"

Malon's eyes widened, but she played it off with a shrug. "Erm…nothing that I can really recall…though I can guarantee it was not this."

"I always thought we'd meet again in a snowy place," Luigi shrugged. "I haven't the slightest clue why I thought that though…"

Malon simply giggled. That is, until those two annoying and secretly rude Goombas cried out.

"G-Great Luigi! Wait for us!"

"Sigh…this is more work than I expected," muttered Luigi.

"So true…" sighed Malon. The first Goomba suddenly noticed something, and rushed over to the end of the hall.

"Uh oh…looks like the end of the line here," he stated. Malon cocked her head.

"Really?"

"You didn't remember that?" Luigi questioned, his voice going up a few pitches. Malon shook her head.

"No, this is where I woke up…"

"Well, it looks like the Goomba's right. Now what do we do?"

"Uh…shouldn't we look for another way out, maybe? (This guy's useless.)" suggested the other. "If we stay put, someone's definitely going to spot-"

"There they are…" a deep sinister voice abruptly spoke, its owner pointing at the group in the corner. Within seconds later, the second Goomba was absorbed by the shocking red rings. Malon cringed. Those were the same rings that hypnotized Zelda! Which could only mean…

"HAIL BLECK!"

"GARY! NO!" the other Goomba wailed as Gary marched over to the possessor of the hypnotizing ability.

"Hmmm mmm mmm…I've been looking all OVER for you…" Nastasia said creepily upon arriving. "Good work, my newest minion."

The figure next to Nastasia was the exact image that Malon had described- a corrupted Meta Knight. He gave a silent bow.

"It was easy once I located the girl…she led me right to the Man in Green…" he explained. He then held up the wrist with his watch. "It also helped that I was able to pinpoint where they'd end up at with this…"

Nastasia took a closer look at the watch, her eyes hidden behind her glasses widening with interest.

"What is this device, pray tell?"

"It's a communicator, I believe…but it's far more advanced that anything I've ever seen. It can do nearly everything, except tell you what time it is. And that includes pinpointing other owners of these watches."

"Really…" Nastasia breathed, highly intrigued by this new info. Luigi narrowed his eyes- now that she knew that, no doubt she would use that to find the others! Which _would_ be a good thing, but certainly not when the knowledge was in an evil mind!

"However, they only can connect at close range…" her servant continued. "So basically, if any other owners of these watches are in the castle, their location will come up. The long-distance connection has been corrupted thanks to the forced teleportation."

"Great…" she huffed. One chance at locating the heroes was ruined thanks to her orders for forced teleporting.

"_Oh no…oh no…oh no…"_ whispered Tails, gulping with great vigor. He and Knuckles had teleported into this very room after Malon had woken up by pure happenstance, and had also seen Meta Knight gliding down the hall. Tails had done the same thing Meta Knight did, location-locating wise. He found that Meta Knight was reporting Malon and Luigi's whereabouts to Nastasia, and the villains' plan went perfectly when the duo ended up at the dead end.

It was even more irony that this area happened to have the very ceiling Knuckles had jammed his knuckles into. Tails was currently hanging onto his friend's back for dear life and keeping watch on what was going on. It was simply a miracle that Meta Knight or Nastasia, or even Luigi and Malon, hadn't discovered them yet. But both knew if they moved now, they'd most likely end up with the same treatment as Meta Knight.

"I'm so amazed we haven't been caught yet…" Knuckles strained to say. Tails wasn't heavy, and he wasn't getting tired from hanging off the ceiling, but Tails' fidgeting to get a better view of what was happening was making it more difficult than necessary.

"We'll continue to not be caught if you just keep quiet!" Tails whispered sharply back. "We should be very grateful that they somehow haven't picked up our location yet!"

"Just keep me updated on what's happening…"

Knuckles had his feet placed on the ceiling as well, looking like he was some sort of red handle dangling down, with Tails strapped to him like a backpack. The fox adjusted his ears once again, hoping to pick up on more of what was happening.

"YOU!" Luigi and Malon shouted to the ground of fiends, finally allowing everything to sink in. Nastasia gave a tiny shrug while the caped creature next to her stared hard at Luigi and Malon. What made them so special to share a similar watch as him? And just who made them? And more importantly, who else had one?

"Yeah, you're the guys who weren't really team players back at the weddings you attended…" Nastasia continued, unintentionally interrupting Meta Knight's thoughts. "You're going to need a little disciplinary action, I think…so let's get started, hm?"

Luigi defensively forced Malon behind him as Nastasia stepped closer to them. The first Goomba was shaking uncontrollably- his mind was racing way too fast for his liking.

"Oh man…Poor Gary… All right! It's time for me to Goomba-up!" Luigi and Malon though for a brief moment that he was going to go something heroic. "Hey lady! …got room for one more on your team?"

"Say what?" yelped Malon, lurching upon hearing the words.

"Whah? Hey! Wait a second!" Luigi exclaimed. "What are you DOING?"

"What's it look like, genius? I'm getting with the winning team!"

Luigi went slack jawed while Nastasia was pleasantly surprised. "Yeah, good call. Love the enthusiasm there. Go ahead and swear your, y'know, undying loyalty to the count, and you're on board."

"Hey, count me in, lady! HERE WE GO, COUNT, HERE WE GO! LOVE THAT COUNT!"

Malon's jaw dropped as Luigi struck his angry battle stance. "You…you dirty traitor!"

"OK, guys, new agenda? Hold this fool down so I can get his priorities on track…" Nastasia ordered.

"YES, MA'AM!"

"Why are we in so much danger already?" Malon wailed, preparing to rush forward and stomp on all the baddies. Luigi backed up even more to the wall, stopping Malon and pushing her somewhat safely behind him. "Luigi, _what are you doing_?"

"Everyone knows you can't go up against people with hypnosis…" he murmured silently. "And this is just me and my typical bad luck right here…"

"So you're giving up?" Malon gaped, not sure if she wanted to fight Luigi's protection or embrace it. Luigi took her hand and squeezed it tightly.

"I'm not giving up- I'm accepting defeat. There is a difference…but no matter what I'm brainwashed into doing, just know- ACK! Wh-whoa! Hey! No! Mario, where are you? HEEEEEELP!"

The brainwashed enemies quickly restrained Luigi, who at least attempted to struggle free. Malon froze with fear as she witnessed Nastasia lifting her glasses and revealing her powerful eyes.

"No! Luigi! I-"

And because she caught sight of the hypnosis, she was hypnotized as well, even though that was unintentional also…

"Oh snap, Tails!" Knuckles said as quietly as possible. "What the heck do we do now?"

"We've got to get out of here!" Tails replied back. "Whatever happens, we must avoid the brainwasher at all costs! It's the only way we can figure out how to save everybody! Now crawl quietly to the door on the opposite side of the room…"

Knuckles did as he was told, Tails watching with eyes full of fear as his very best friends were brainwashed, and there wasn't a thing he could do. The guilt he felt was enough to kill him, but he knew that if he stayed away for awhile, he'd find out how to help, so all was not in vain.

"Are there any other presences inside this castle?" Nastasia asked Meta Knight, still wrapped up mysteriously in his cape, once she was finished with her current projects. He nodded perfectly in response.

"Yes, actually. But I wouldn't worry about them for the moment," he replied.

"I'm sorry, but I don't enjoy the thought of anyone in this castle that doesn't need to be," she stated, glancing at Malon. "Because what happens then is that I find them, and I make sure that they never get back out…"

Meta Knight stared soullessly at the ceiling, watching Knuckles and Tails make an attempted escape by gliding/flying down from the ceiling and bolting out the door.

"Do not worry…our newest associates should be able to take care of them for you…perhaps provide a bit of a challenge and some training."

Nastasia thought long and hard before at long last answering. "This will be taken care of eventually, mind you."

"But of course…"

. . .

Luigi and Malon were motionless as the hypnosis began to work its evil ways through their minds, filling them with thoughts of evil. Their only hope now resting in the hands of the final two members of Team Luigi…but would they really be able to find a way to help?

* * *

***fangirl scream* It's Team Luigi! Look! Look! Loo- oooh, they're gone... (Moral of A/N: Luigi needed to be in this game more.)**


	17. Dashing to the Bitlands

Super Paper Mario X

Chapter 16: Dashing to the Bitlands

_"You're late. Did something happen?"_

_"Yes, my father caught me. Sneaking out of the castle wasn't easy after that."_

_"I was worried you wouldn't come…"_

_"You are a strange girl…You know what I am and yet you do not seem afraid."_

_"I don't care what you are. I just wanted to see you. Is that…is that so wrong?"_

_"No. No, of course not. I wanted to see you too…"_

_"Blumiere…do you mind if I sit next to you?"_

_"Please do, Timpani. Let's return to our conversation. I must know more of you…"_

_. . ._

Mario, Link, Sonic, Peach, Amy, and the Pixls emerged out of the Orange door back onto Flipside Tower, with Merlon once again waiting for them.

"Oh ho, welcome back, friends! How was your journey this time? Did you find Merlee and obtain the Pure Heart?"

Mario, Link, and Peach nodded truthfully while Sonic and Amy were wondering who in the world the guy even was.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, we did." Peach confirmed.

"Which was no problem at all for us, Merlon!" Link chimed, trying to look important. Amy rolled her eyes.

"Merlee said that we would need the power of four teams of heroes to save the world…" Tippi told Merlon. "Yes, Merlee said that…"

"Oh ho, is that so? Is there more than one set of heroes? Well, if Team Mario and Peach are two such teams, then you still need two more…"

"Why does no one understand the ZAP anymore?" questioned Amy. "This just totally ruins the point!"

Completely out of the blue, the ground began to massively tremor and shook everyone in Flipside. Tippi apparently found the source of the sudden quake.

"Look…over there…"

Everyone turned to the sky to see the Void increase from its relatively small size to a decent size bigger.

"The Void has grown…" Merlon restated, continuing to stare. "Hmm…I fear that our time grows short, dear friends…I will return to the Light Prognosticus. You young ones seek the next Pure Heart Pillar."

He began to hurry off, but upon recalling something froze. "But first…allow me to tell of something that mystical book has already divulged to me. One person will predict whether the Light or Dark Prognosticus predicts truly…both books refer to him as the "man in green", but I know not what this means…"

All eyes turned to Link, who was suddenly looking terrified.

"_Wh-what?_ You think that c-could be ME?" he gulped.

"Well, you're in green…" Peach trailed.

"And definitely a man…" added Sonic. He looked up. "At least, I think."

"HEY!" he quickly turned to Merlon looking hopeful. "There isn't some sort of picture to go with the description of a "man in green"?"

"I'm pretty sure that photography wasn't around several hundred years ago…" Tippi mused while sweat dropping.

"I still dunno, it sounds an awful lot like Link…" muttered Amy. Link looked horrified.

"But, if I really am that "man in green" the book talks about…then how will I know when I'll decide which book is right? Oh man…I determine whether we win or lose! I determine whether the world will succumb to the big hole in the sky! That, is a LOT of pressure!"

"I must return to my study to resolve this conundrum," Merlon finished.

"Oh yeah, you go resolve your conundrum, while my stress SKYROCKETS, OLD MAN!"

"Link, get a grip!" Tippi exclaimed. "I've seen the Light Prognosticus, and I know that if you are the "man in green", you won't have to make any decisions until much later. Who's to say the man in green even makes a decision at all?"

"I know, you're right…just thinking about carrying all that responsibility on your shoulders isn't comforting. I'm a deciding factor, a variable, a balance scale that could easily tip one way instead of another-"

Mario grabbed Link and shook him rapidly while Peach reminded him that they still weren't even confident that he was THE man in green spoke of by the book. It calmed Link down somewhat, but it was obvious that he was still dwelling on it.

"Oh yes…" Merlon trailed, returning for a final time. "Do not be surprised if you run into someone who is willing to help you. Odd fellow, but he is somewhat smart. He even claimed to know where the next Pure Heart Pillar is, and is hanging around by it…wherever it is."

"Do you know his name?" Amy asked. Merlon shook his head.

"I'm afraid not…perhaps you may recognize him, however. Who knows? Now I must officially be off…"

Merlon at long last left, leaving the heroes standing around and pondering what they should do next. Mario at least knew they had to get back to the main floor of Flipside, so he led everyone to the elevator and made their way down.

"So what exactly is this place?"

"This is Flipside- this is where I fell from the sky! Or…where I landed after I fell from the sky," explained Peach.

"It's in between dimensions, you know," added Link. Sonic and Amy nodded.

"That's interesting…"

To be frank, the heroes were feeling a bit lost. Sure, they had vanquished Mimi and claimed a Pure Heart, but there was so much uncertainty in their future…there was no safety in their security. With the rest of their friends still out there, the mysterious hole in the sky, and now this info about one man possibly deciding the fate of the universe…it didn't calm the nerves.

Mario took control, flipping himself, Link, and Sonic into 3-D in front of the elevator and entered through the gate not visible in 2-D.

"Where're we going?" Sonic asked, trotting after Mario and Link who apparently knew where they were going.

"To the Outskirts!" Link replied. "This is around where we found the last Pillar, and it's part of the only area we haven't really explored in Flipside."

"How does a Heart Pillar work anyway?"

"We put the Heart in the Heart slot and it opens up a pretty colored door."

"…so you leave the Pure Heart in the slot? Vulnerable for someone to take?"

That really wasn't smart planning on the Ancients' part, Mario thought to himself. But at least no one had messed with them as of yet, so he felt safe by not worrying too much about them. When they crossed the long corridor that connected to the outskirts, Mario reverted back to 2-D with Peach and Amy magically returning to his side.

"We're looking here again?" Peach wondered. Link shrugged.

"Like I told Sonic, it's the only part of Flipside that we haven't really explored. It's most likely somewhere in the unknown!"

"Can't argue with that logic," decided Amy, jumping down the green pipe.

. . .

Almost as soon as Amy had entered the underground, she had slammed her hammer down on an innocent Squig, which Mario was actually grateful for. She climbed over a large block sitting in the path, then jumped off of it and onto another Squig.

"Cool!"

Mario gave her a thumbs up as he passed by, then spotted another pipe in the distance. He motioned for everyone to follow him. On the pipe were two red brick blocks, which would be a hindrance if they had noticed it before.

"Not anymore!" Link exclaimed. He placed Boomer on the blocks, then snapped his fingers to detonate them. A new path was opened to deeper parts of the Outskirts. They headed on down.

. . .

Upon entering the new area, the first thing anyone noticed was a Sproing bouncing up to them. Sonic instantly crouched down, then spun up to attack.

"Careful Sonic- they divide themselves up after being struck!" Peach called.

"I've got it!" Sonic answered, performing an Action Chain on the creature until all of its HP was drained. He landed back on the ground, spinning on his foot and giving a peace sign.

"Hey, you guys!" a childish voice called innocently, its owner waving to the gang. "Merlon told me I would be seeing you soon!"

Everyone turned to the red block lying in their path, apparently being sat on by a pink puff with a Pixl floating behind him.

"Kirby? _This_ is where you ended up?" Link gaped. Kirby, as who the creature apparently was, simply shrugged.

"Yup, I guess. I dunno what you mean though… I actually accidentally warped to Flipside, but then I got bored and started exploring around the Outskirts."

"The only way you can even reach the Outskirts is by teleporting…" mumbled Tippi. Quickly she turned to Team Mario. "Is he with you?"

"Yup." "Yes." "Oh yeah!"

"Well that isn't surprising then…I take it you can flip into 3-D, er…what is your name again?"

"I'm KIRBY!" he cried standing up and spinning around in a circle. "Nice to meet you, little butterfly!"

"My name is Tippi…but Link calls me Tipps."

Kirby grinned. "That's cool!"

"It is, isn't it?" Link smirked back. Sonic just shook his head.

"Kirby, it's one thing to just pop up out of nowhere -Amy and I would certainly know so there's no room to talk there- but…you seem completely calm! Don't you have any idea what's going on?"

"Of course I have an idea of what's going on!" Kirby cried. "That's how I ended up here!"

"Did you get married too?" Amy asked, receiving a few raised eyebrows. Kirby looked appalled.

"Um, no…if I were to marry anyone, it would probably be Bow…" he sighed, then quickly snapped back into reality. "Oh, oops. I started to drift off there…I ended up here because my world was utterly destroyed thanks to the black hole in the sky and Meta Knight was swallowed up."

Everyone nearly doubled-over at the terrible news - Kirby simply played around with Tippi.

"Your WORLD is gone?" gaped Link.

"And Meta Knight too?" Peach gasped.

Kirby nodded. "That's right! You should've _seen_ the thing- it was like a giant mouth gulping everything and it was like 'nom nom' or something…"

"How could it have possibly destroyed your world?" Sonic questioned. "I mean, in every world we've been in so far, the Void was hardly anything, granted that it has been getting bigger…"

"I'm guessing my world happened to be closer to the Void, unlike the places you've apparently been in," Kirby shrugged. "Therefore when the Void formed, which world was taken first? Technically the Void isn't getting bigger- all the worlds are getting closer! It's pulling them all closer and closer until they finally get sucked right up!"

Tippi was stunned. "My goodness, he sure is a bright one, huh?"

Kirby beamed. "Thank you! I have my moments…"

"We have yet to meet one person in this group who I have not been enthralled with…"

"Kirby," Amy stated, placing her hands on his shoulders. "Your world is gone…your friend is gone…how can you be so carefree?"

"What can I do about it?" Kirby blubbered, staring back at her. "I can't exactly pull my world out of the Void, and I certainly can't go on a hunt for Meta Knight…the least I thought I could do was help prevent any other worlds from suffering the same fate…"

"Aw…" Peach gushed, though looking crestfallen. Mario was amazed that Kirby had even managed to get away- he could only imagine the pure destruction the Void did on his home, Kirby having to watch as it was all taken away…

"I teleported- I ended up here. I found Merlon, who was apparently reading a very large book, and was telling me all about saving the worlds. I asked if there was anything I could do, he said, "Oh ho, boy! We've already got heroes on the job!" Then I explored his house in 3-D because I was bored and he started treating me like a celebrity. It was weird."

"That's because _we're_ the heroes he was talking about," Link pointed out.

"I know, once he saw me teleport into 3-D, he instantly knew I was one of you! So he told me to go explore the Outskirts to see if I could look for a "Heart Pillar", and that way when you guys returned I would know where it was and could help!"

"That's quite a mouthful, Kirby…" Peach pondered. "You sure have been through a lot!"

"Yeah, at least we got more of a back-story with Kirby than with Sonic," murmured Link under his breath. Sonic looked insulted nevertheless.

"I heard that! It's not my fault I crashed through a roof and instantly found myself doing community service! Besides, Amy toppled out of nowhere, didn't she?"

"Actually, she was with me before she ever stepped foot into the mansion," brought up Peach.

"So I have an alibi!" Amy said proudly. Sonic just made a face and turned away to pout. Kirby giggled.

"Anyway, yeah, that's what's been up with me!" he finished. "What have you people been up to?"

"Peach, Amy, and Zelda were married to Bowser, yours truly and unfortunately, and Ganondorf which created the Chaos Heart that created the Void in the sky. What we have to do to counter that is collect the eight Pure Hearts to form the Purity Heart and vanquish all evil related to this mess once and for all. Nothing out of the ordinary," Sonic explained casually.

"That's just the main outline though," grunted Link. "Everything else will come as we go on."

"So I see…" Kirby trailed, staring as the group of people before him stared back. "Aren't you surprised to see me? I did show up out of nowhere after six long, long, long, long months.

"Eh, not really…" shrugged Sonic.

Mario: I was!

"To tell the truth, we're sort of expecting to run into everyone else among our journey now," Peach said, grinning nervously.

"If we are truly the heroes spoken of in the books, then it's been prophesied that we'll all join up once again," added Amy. "I think it's safe to say we can finally stop worrying along those lines now."

"And we can start worrying about how I'm going to decide the fate of the universe!" Link wailed dramatically, accidentally throwing up his hands during the episode and flying into 3-D. He returned back moments later. "I keep forgetting about that… "

"Dude, there's no proof that you even ARE the "man in green!" Sonic protested. Kirby looked thoughtful.

"I dunno, he is wearing green, and is a man…" he looked up. "I think."

"Grah…"

"Anyway Kirby…" Peach continued, seeing that Mario was reminding them about their quest, not that he wasn't thrilled with seeing Kirby again as much as the next guy. "You mentioned something about searching for the next Heart Pillar?"

"Ooh! Oh yeah! I found it, but I couldn't get to it," he replied.

"You couldn't get to it? What?"

"Yeah, right behind the farthest wall -see, over there to the right- is where the Heart Pillar is. Problem is, the only way to even get anything in there is via a thin crack that's only accessible in 3-D."

"That's it? Ha, all we need is Slim then!" Link laughed, motioning to the triangle Pixl fluttering around Mario at the moment. "Speaking of Pixls, is that one behind you, Kirby?"

Kirby blinked, then glanced over his shoulder to what could be perceived as a Pixl. "This? Um, I think it's a Pixl…are you a Pixl, Dashell?"

Dashell, as was apparently the supposed Pixl's name, nodded swiftly. "Yes, yes I am. Nice to meet all of you, by the way."

"How in the world did you find him, Kirby?"

"I went battling in the Pit of 100 Trials before I met Merlon! To be honest, that's originally where I ended up…Woo, there were sure some tough creatures…luckily I was able to take out all my pent up frustration about my world being destroyed and not knowing anything about what was happening on a huge white Macintosh dragon at the bottom of the pit…and all the enemies before it."

Sonic stared Dashell up and down, trying to take in his odd shape. "What's his power, if you know?"

"I give people a boost in speed! Seriously. I think fighting's useless- whenever there's a fight, I flee. I thought it was absolutely crazy that Kirby there had even managed to best that monster of a dragon…"

"It was really easy…" Kirby scoffed. "All I had to do was bounce on the antenna thing a bunch of times…"

"You! Must! Treasure! Life! I told you! Got to, got to, GOT TO! You've absolutely got to!" Dashell yelped. Kirby just stared at him, like he did before when he first heard that speech. "…I mean, don't you think so? …I'm sure you agree with me."

"I do! I do!" Sonic cried, eagerly jumping up and down and waving his arms. Dashell gave an excited flutter.

"Yeah, that's the spirit! I can tell ya do, too! Here, since fate has brought us both here, I will lend you…MY POWER!"

"Isn't the power of dashing a little useless for the fastest thing alive?" Tippi asked, her question assuming the role of a record scratch.

Mario: Oh yeah.

"Hey! The blue guy's not the only one I speed up- really. Anyone in range gets a boost! Trust in my power and you can run away to a more peaceful world!"

"So if one person uses you then we all get the power?" Amy realized. "Nice!"

"Aw, he doesn't want to follow me…" pouted Kirby. Sonic blinked as Dashell floated to his side without a care.

"Eh, sorry Kirby…you can have him back, if you'd like…"

"Nah, s'all right! I think he's better off with you anyway!"

"You can have Thoreau if you'd like a Pixl, Kirby…" Amy offered, holding out Thoreau. Kirby beamed and accepted the Pixl quickly.

"Gee, thanks!"

"He's very useful- he can grab anything, even people, and then you can chuck the object as far as you please!"

"Really? Cool!"

Kirby and Amy laughed lightly as Mario finally recalled the info Kirby had relayed to him- go into 3-D, and use Slim to reach the Heart Pillar. With the Yellow Heart currently in his pocket, he flipped into 3-D, then went paper-thin with Slim. Like Kirby had said, the third Heart Pillar was beyond the wall. Mario heard his friends laughing and catching up on old times, despite the fact there were odd and sudden appearances and there was a threatening hole in the sky… Mario smiled. Another thing he learned from all his adventures was that it was important to have a good time at some point. Could you imagine the stress build-up by the time you made it to the end if you never took a bit of time to enjoy yourself?

"…and I swear, this Zombie Shroom was about to charge!" Link exclaimed, finishing up the tale of how he obtained the Poison Shroom. "I have never been so afraid of fungus in my life…luckily I sent it back to the afterlife, but it reincarnated or something as this Poison Shroom!"

"Why do you still have it?" questioned Kirby. Link shrugged.

"I'll never eat it…this is one Shroom I can turn down! Though it is proof that I defeated a Zombie Shroom…"

"That's a terrible reason to keep rotten food!" complained Peach.

"Only Link," snickered Amy, getting everyone else to chuckle. Mario smiled a little as he pulled out the Pure Heart, raising it above his head. It shone brightly, light up the whole small room in a yellow aura as it placed itself securely into the Heart Pillar.

. . .

Back at Flipside Tower, a yellow door magically appeared next to the orange one, creating the entrance for the next world.

. . .

Mario grinned proudly, then returned back through the crack and returned to his friends. Link, Peach, Amy, and Kirby were still exchanging humorous stories while Sonic sat off to the side, amused enough with chatting enthusiastically to Dashell. Apparently they had a lot in common. Mario whistled to get everyone's attention, and all but Kirby promptly stood up.

"I take it the door to the next world has opened?" Peach asked, Mario replying with a quick nod. "Then it's best that we'd be off! Come on, guys!"

"New world time already? Darn…" sighed Link.

"Huh? You guys are going back on your adventure?" Kirby quizzed, jumping to his feet as well.

"Of course! We only have so much time before that Void devours anymore worlds…" Amy trailed off, her gaze rolling quickly to the floor. "We have to hurry."

Sonic agreed instantly. "She is right…"

"And with me along, we can go even faster! Yeah," cheered Dashell.

"Can I come too?" Kirby begged, bugging his eyes out in an attempting to make a pleading puppy dog face.

"Was that a question?" Link chuckled. "We weren't even going to give you a choice- at this rate, we all need to stick together!"

"That's great!" Kirby yelled, now spinning on the toe of his shoe. "…eh, what exactly are we doing this time?"

"We enter new dimensions and located the Pure Heart hidden within!" Tippi informed. "Now, I only wonder where we are going next…"

"I wonder too! And I'm totally willing to do anything to help!"

"Kirby has joined the team! Using his ability to float, he is capable of making certain tasks easier! Also, when Team Mario takes control, he can teleport into the third dimension! He can also inhale enemies and steal their abilities. His battle ability is being an excellent Superguarder, meaning that he can counter attacks easily."

"Does Link always do intros like that?"

"He never did one for me," huffed Peach, folding her arms. Link gave her a stern look.

"Hey, we went over that Missy. Now deal with it!"

Kirby tapped his foot impatiently. "Well, what are we waiting for? I guess I'm coming along for the ride as well… let's go! Let's go!"

Mario grinned at Kirby's eagerness to get going before pulling out the Return Pipe and returning everyone to Flipside Tower.

**Flipside Tower-**

"Darn it Mario, I thought we told you to WARN us before you bust out with using that thing?" scolded Link and Peach simultaneously.

Mario: Heh heh heh… ^^;

"That was fun!" cried Kirby, still spinning around, though faster than before. "Can we go again?"

"No, we can't," Sonic stated, stepping in front of the yellow door. "This…is where we go next."

"Mmm, all right…"

"Care to do the honors, Mario?" Link suggested, motioning towards said door. Mario shrugged while approaching the dimensional portal, opening it up and leading his group into the new dimension…

. . .

Mario and his new friends (or old friends that were newly returned to the group) opened the door, unsure of what they would find. All the while, Merlee's words about finding the "other two teams of heroes" rang in their minds. Were these other heroes somewhere in this new world? If not, where? Meanwhile, the creeping Void grew larger in the skies above Flipside. The hope of all worlds rested on the heroes finding the next Pure Heart…


	18. When Geeks Attack

Super Paper Mario X

Chapter 17: When Geeks Attack

The Bitlands had an appropriate name- every little bit of the world was pixilated! The sky had squares of varying blues, the ground was dotted with greens and browns, and basically everything in-between was, how you say, bitted.

"So this is where that door leads…" Tippi commented as soon as the gang had piled into the new world. "I suppose the next Pure Heart must be nearby…"

Everyone noticed that Tippi was confused. "That's odd…I can feel it nearby, but where could it be?"

Peach put a hand to her cheek, propping up her elbow with her other hand. "What could this mean?"

"Well I'm- AAACK!"

A long sticky tongue snapped out of nowhere, hitting its direct and initial target of Tippi herself. Peach's jaw dropped while everyone else gasped.

"Ner- herrr herrr herr herrr!"

A huge green chameleon suddenly appeared, emerging out of his camouflaged mode. Peach glared furiously, the rest of the group striking battle stances.

"Give back Tipps, you…nerd!" Kirby snapped, dancing around while punching the air. The nerd ignored Kirby, and the glower Peach was giving him.

"HI-TECHNICAAAAAAL! I caught a super-rare pixilated butterfly!" he exclaimed in a high-pitched nasal voice which was the equivalent of scraping on a chalkboard. "My friends at are going to freak when they get word of this find! I must bring it home! I can't miss this week's episode of The Grodus Chronicles"! No way am I going to entrust my digital Recordomeow to tape an episode so epic. This is so hi-technicaaaaal!"

And with those terribly nerdy words, he vanished. The fierce look on Peach's face disappeared instantly.

"Oh no…TIPPI!"

"Our butterfly was just stolen by a geek! AUGH!" wailed Kirby. "What a terrible way to start off a world!"

"How are we going to figure out what to do?" panicked Amy. "Oh goodness…what if we need Tippi and we don't have Tippi? AUGH!"

"There's a spiky-looking Pixl in that bush over there! AUGH!" cried Link. "Oh wait…wait, WHAT?"

Mario went to investigate, while the group very briefly put the missing Tippi at the back of their minds (except for Peach).

"Whoa-ho-ho! A kidnapping! Oooh, the despair! The awfully spectacle of it all! The shocking scene occurred right before my very own tender eyes! Well, I guess that's a wrap for that Pixl. Now that that freak Francis has got her…"

"Why is that Pixl talking to himself?"

"HEY! COME OUT! WE KNOW YOU'RE THERE!"

"Whoa-ho!"

The spiky-Pixl emerged out of the bushes when Mario reached his hand into it, hovering off to the side. He continued to talk to himself.

"Who're these guys? Friends of the butterfly girl that got nabbed?" Peach responded to his personal musings by nodding worriedly. "Well that's a pity. That geek that grabbed her? Francis. Basically the nerd to end all nerds. Plus, he's got this thing for butterflies! And, well, all things nerdy too. If he gets his sweaty mitts on something he likes, there's no getting it back. He collects stuff and keeps it in his big fantasy fortress. It's like geek paradise."

"But we've got to save Tippi!" Peach protested, angrily clenching her fists.

"I dunno, 'geek paradise' doesn't sound very inviting…" mulled Link. Peach stared him down until he recoiled, backing up a few steps.

"Where is this Fort Francis?"

"Well, if you go ALL the way down ahead for miles and miles, you'll find it. You're not thinking of infiltrating the nerd lair and rescuing her, are you?"

"Heck yes I am! Let's go now!"

Peach started to stalk off, only to be held back by the combined forced Link and Mario. Amy sweat dropped.

"Take it easy there, Peach…"

"Look, nobody likes having their butterfly kidnapped by a geek, but it's dangerous."

"Dangerous? I have been in more dangerous situations that I can count!" Peach replied sharply.

"She of all people would know about kidnapping though-"

"What did you just say Kirby?"

"Eek! Nothing! I swear!"

"Still set on it, eh? What a tender moment. I think I got something in my eye here." the Pixl, whose name was Barry, stated. "Listen, let me give you some travel tips. You listening? Good. All I got for you is three critical tips, so remember all of 'em!"

Mario prepared to memorize them all- usually he was the only one the do so, though something told him Peach wasn't about to forget anything anytime soon.

"Here's your first tip! A bunch of no-class jerks are holed up in this castle up ahead. It ain't gonna be easy getting past 'em. But here's the juice: it's an old castle. You do your thing with that red X mark, and maybe something will happen for you."

"Red X mark…" repeated Link. Barry readied himself to tell the next part.

"Now for my second tip! If you somehow pass those clowns in the castle, you'll see an ocean. Can't miss it. A scaaaaaary sea monster lives there. The beast is huuuuge. And cranky. But if you toast its red flipper thing, something good is bounded to happen."

"Red flipper thing, got it!" Amy chirped.

"And here's the last tip! Once you swim your way through that ocean, you'll see a humongous tree-"

"Psh, we've seen quite a few huge trees back in our day," scoffed Kirby. "That should be cake!"

"There's a huge gorge on the other side. There's no jumping across it! Look for the red wind and do something with it. Then you can get across."

Sonic bobbed his head to show that he understood. "Red wind…"

"Get all of that? Good. You be careful now. If by some crazy chance you do save her, come back and tell me how you did it!"

"Can do!" assured Kirby, beginning to trot off. "Let's go!"

"We're coming, Tippi!" Peach cried, following Kirby quickly. The rest of the gang had to run just to keep up! Sonic then recalled the power of his new Pixl.

"Perhaps we can use Dashell to bring things up to speed…"

Link groaned. "This should be interesting…"

Everyone waited as Sonic called forth Dashell's power, taking a step moments later and going at twice his speed- he had to be very careful not to break the sound barrier, otherwise who knew what would happen…besides a giant ka-boom, people flying everywhere, and Sonic going at speed he'd never gone before.

"Live life to the fullest!" called Dashell into the wind. "Seriously!"

The rest of the gang bolted forward as well- obviously not as fast as Sonic, but still a decent speed. They leaped over a small mound of earth (Mario and Link bashing two blocks sitting right above) then bound over a tiny gap in the ground. They were all going crazy with the new speed!

Amy put her hands into the air as she did an impressive jump onto a hill just ahead. "Wow, this new speed sure gives me some air! Try it!"

Kirby received another coin out of a ? block, then turned and floated after Amy. "I don't even NEED to jump! Woo!"

"There's a ton of Koopas up here…" Link noticed, landing next to Amy. Sonic wasted no time in hopping his way to the top.

"I've got it! You may want to look out, though…"

Link and Amy hurried out of the way as Sonic kicked a koopa at the top of the hill in the head, causing it to retreat back into its shell. Smirking, Sonic kicked it again, sending it zigzagging down the hill and taking out any other Koopas in the way, clearing the path.

"All right!"

Mario praised Sonic for his quick thinking, then lead the gang down the rest of the hill.

It was certainly odd…lacking Tippi. She may have been silent, but when she wasn't there, you KNEW she wasn't there. It was also different not hearing her pipe up with the occasional comment. As they carried on, Mario noticed Peach getting glummer by the second- was Tippi being kidnapped downing her that much? It was clear she wasn't as perky as usual…but it wasn't like her to not be undeniably cheery, even if she was somewhat upset.

The group ventured onward, passing by a large green pipe and two red ones, each positioned one each side of a gap. Almost instantly they were being targeted for a magic spell. Peach saw it coming out of the corner of her eye, throwing up her umbrella and everyone cowering worriedly behind her. The blast of magic did no damage, and everyone poked their heads around Peach to see where it originated.

Magikoopa.

"Yah-EEE!"

The Magikoopa didn't even know what hit him- Kirby had went up and down so fast with his Final Cutter that he was like a streak of unnoticeable pink! He grinned cheekily at his feat, pointing forward and urging the crew onward. Up ahead were several colorful blocks, which in 3-D, as Mario found out, seemed like people were doing something…he wasn't about to quite figure out what though.

"Eek! What is THAT?" shrieked Amy, glaring wide-eyes at a black Cursya, similar to the one she had come in contact with at Merlee's Mansion.

"Yeah, Tipps, can you give us a- oh yeah Tippi is kidnapped…" Link started then quickly trailed away. Peach cringed and turned away.

"Either way I don't like the looks of that…thing," Sonic stated, getting really uncomfortable with the Cursya creeping up to them. Kirby snuck up from behind and whacked it with his Final Cutter.

"There we go! No more scary whatever-the-heck-that-was!" he said cheerfully. Kirby then inspected the pipe, which he deduced led to the background where an Ice Storm was up for grabs. "Is it worth it to go get that?"

"Nah, not really…" Link replied, defeating another Magikoopa before beginning to backtrack. "We need to find out where to go now, since there's a dead end…"

"I saw a dimension-swapping block in 3-D just before we came in contact with those red pipes," Sonic threw in, hoping to help. "Maybe that leads somewhere?"

"It won't hurt to check!" Amy shrugged. Sonic dashed off with Link and Amy in tow, Mario, Peach, and Kirby bringing up the rear. Mario was going to ask Peach if she was feeling okay, but apparently Kirby had beaten him to the punch. He latched onto the top of her head, placed her crown on his own head, then just sat there.

"What's wrong, Peach? You're the last person to be upset about anything! Unless it's life or death, but I'm just speaking in general, Poyo."

Peach simply sighed, not even phased by the fact Kirby had made himself comfortable on her head. "I'm just worried about Tippi. I know we'll find her, but I can't help but fret nevertheless and no matter how hard I try to ease up a bit I just can't…"

Kirby nodded sympathetically. "Ah, I see…too bad I'm not a shrink. Then I could give you some really profound advice."

"…can you give me any regular, everyday Kirby advice?"

"Oh sure! By the looks of it, I'd just say you and Tippi have an attachment!"

Peach nearly stopped upon hearing those words, straining her eyes to look up at Kirby. "Say what?"

"You know, almost like a Soul Partner attachment, maybe! I can't tell for sure though- it could be something else, or maybe even something more, but I just know it won't go away until Tippi is back safe and sound, which we'll make sure she is!"

Peach was someone confused by Kirby's proclamation, though simply shrugged that off and smiled minutely. "Thank you, Kirby. Just that little bit has me feeling very slightly better…but don't expect me to perk up right away."

"Not a problem, Peach! Always happy to help!"

"Yes…now can you get off my head? I know it must be comfortable, but…"

"…No problem, Peach. Always happy to help."

Kirby placed the crowd back where it had once been before leaping off the princess' head. She fixed any hair out of place as Mario walked up to her and asked if she was fine. Peach nodded slowly in Mario's direction while brushing some hair out of her face.

"I'm fine, Mario. Though it is natural for one to worry…just not as much as I am right now. Like Kirby said, I can stop worrying once she's safe, and we must keep going."

There we go. Peach was back! Mario at least had better conscience knowing Peach was trying to not let it get to her. They smiled at each other for a few moments before Amy's loud voice called out to them.

"Hey guys! We found a hidden door!"

"Follow us!" shouted Sonic.

"Oh goody!" Kirby cried, running back to where they were. Mario and Peach chuckled while following after. The dimension-swapping block gave the team a boost up on a green pipe, where a brick block was located. Link discovered upon hitting it that a ladder was inside, and after climbing said ladder, Amy found a door.

. . .

Link had crossed a gap by riding a platform across, then ventured into the background the claim a catch Card SP. Apparently you could use it on an enemy to turn them into a card! Excited with the find, he quickly returned back to the team, who were somewhat annoyed at his lollygagging.

"…but it's a card! That turns other things into cards!" Link protested.

"Sigh…okay then, Link," Sonic shrugged, promptly knocking his fist into the nearest ? Block.

Which contained a Mega Star.

"Ooh Who gets it?" questioned Link and Peach.

"I want to! Can I, please?" begged Amy, jumping up and down eagerly. Link shook his head.

"No way! Peach got it last time! It's Team Mario's turn!"

"When did Peach get it?"

"Back in Gloam Valley," the princess replied with a shrug. "I suppose Team Mario can get it this time…"

"Yes!"

Mario gave Kirby a look as he claimed the power of the star, his entire team (or what was there of his team) growing to extreme sizes.

"Hope you can keep up, girls!" Link called back down, the female duo staring up at the large 8-bit versions of their friends. Peach slung her umbrella over her shoulder and delicately followed after.

"Come on, Amy…"

"Aw man…I wanted to grow like, ten times my size!" she complained, but following after Peach nonetheless.

Meanwhile, the guys were simply rampaging and stomping on anything that got in their way- enemies mostly. Kirby was enjoying being huge and 8-bit, though it didn't last for very long. Seriously, it only lasted for about ten seconds before the four suddenly shrunk back to normal and fell onto the ground in the usual pile.

"Ow…well, that sucked," Sonic said bluntly, Kirby sitting on his head. "What gives?"

"That was entertaining to watch," Peach admitted when she and Amy arrived on the scene. "Did you have fun?"

"I can tell you're being smart, Peach, so shush!" Link grumbled, once again at the bottom of the pile.

"That had to be the shortest invincibility run ever, however…" Kirby trailed, his eyes still spinning from the crash landing. Mario shoved his hat out of his eyes, Amy assisting him up out of the pile, which made Sonic more accessible. She dragged him away, along with Kirby, and Link was still groaning on the ground. Peach walked over and gave him a hand.

"Ugh…thanks Peach."

"Anytime. But we get the Star next time."

"I can comply to that, I suppose…"

. . .

The next door had no ledge, oddly, so they dropped onto the ground in a casual fashion.

It scared the heck out of an innocent by standing Koopa.

He jumped with fright, then quickly ran over to the right and hit an ? Block, when another Mega Star popped out. Mario never thought that Koopas could even absorb the Star's power, but it was happening right before his very eyes, which meant he was probably wrong…

"8-Bit Koopa!" Kirby wailed, seeing the large enemy charging right for them. "Run! RUN! Save yourself! Go! GO!"

"No need to tell me twice!" Sonic exclaimed, summoning Dashell's power. All of them started yelling as they bolted away from the crazy Koopa on a crushing spree. The majority of the group was so bent on escape that they missed the ? Block, but Peach had luckily caught it and stopped to hit it. Another Mega Star popped out! She smirked.

"That's awesome."

Peach quickly absorbed it, and suddenly she and Amy underwent the transformation that the Koopa and Team Mario went through, becoming massive 8-bit versions of themselves. Sonic cut off Dashell's power as the rest of the team braked to a stop and gaped over their shoulders.

"Okay, this is way cool!" Amy squealed, running for the psychotic Koopa. The Koopa continued to charge, but a simple punch from Peach and a hammer whack from Amy was more than enough to put it out of commission. They exchanged a high five then kept wrecking havoc, Team Mario still gazing at the unfair event that just took place.

"C'mon! We got to be invincible for a split second, while they get to kick butt and then some!" complained Kirby. "We're being cast out in the dark!"

Mario sweat dropped- they couldn't help that they weren't the only heroes this time around. The spotlight did need to be shared, somewhat. Unfortunately this particular sharing was a bit embarrassing…

"Hey," Amy stated, returned back to normal and standing in front of a sign. "What's this say? It's written in some odd language…"

"Amy, it's backward."

"Oh…"

While they were trying to decipher the heavily encrypted message, curiosity got the best of Mario as he bashed a blue ! Block. It created the platform that was missing from underneath the door. He smiled- at least they could get back out of there.

"Neewteb…sepip…yeah, I've got nothing," shrugged Amy.

"Amy, I told you it's written backward-"

"Yes, yes it is, my dear Peach…" Kirby trailed, arriving on the scene and pointing incriminatingly at the sign. "That sign, is indeed, displaying a backward message! Now, what does it say, one may ask? Well, me and my ingenious brain can figure it out!"

"It must not be all that genius if you use incorrect grammar," scoffed Amy. Kirby made a face while folding his arms.

"Fine! I won't tell you that it says 'fall in-between the red pipes' then! You're not getting that particular gem of top secret info from me, nuh-uh!"

**Red Pipes Sometime Later-**

"…I believe that we should fall in-between these red pipes," Amy suggested, now that the gang was just about right back where they started. Kirby was absolutely appalled.

"Whoa, how'd you figure THAT out? I thought I was the only one that knew that!"

Everyone sweat dropped. Amy rolled her eyes.

"It was a gut instinct…"

"Ah, I see. Always listen to your gut! Though mine is usually hungry."

"Well? What're we waiting for?" Sonic asked, climbing onto the pipe. "I'll even go first if ya want! Whee!"

He pushed off the pipe and jumping into the gap in between, Amy yelping and diving after.

"Wait for me Sonic!"

Kirby giggled and inflated himself, then started to float down like a balloon.

"I may as well do it the safe way…"

"I'm with you, Kirby!" Peach exclaimed, opening her parasol as she glided down as well. Mario and Link both said "What the heck?" and leapt in after the rest of the gang.

. . .

"Whoa…it's an underground area!" Sonic exclaimed upon landing. Mario scanned the surroundings, and it certainly looked familiar to him- especially the blue theme, the enemies that happened to lurk there, the position of all the blocks, and even the background music! He smiled- it did bring back memories.

Kirby and Amy hit two ? Blocks each, Kirby claiming some Pil Pals and Amy receiving some coins. Meanwhile, Sonic and Peach teamed up to take out two Gloombas, both of them pulling off stylish moves.

"Well, this is new…" Link trailed, climbing up a set of blocks that were stacked in a stair fashion. He saw the look on Mario's face then took it back. "Erm…though I get the feeling this is just another cakewalk for you, huh?"

Mario: Yup!

"It is kind of cool in here…" admitted Sonic, jumping on a Koopa then kicking the shell within the same move. "Just not much room to run."

Link leapt off his block stairs, then started hitting any block above his head, hoping to get some coins.

Instead, he found another Zombie Shroom.

"NOT ANOTHER ONE!" he wailed, within the same second, bolting off at quite the pace, even without Dashell's power.

"What is that thi- OW IT'S BITING MY EAR!" screamed Kirby, scrambling around with the Shroom attached to his head.

"Kirby do you even have an ear?" Amy questioned as she smacked it off. Kirby rubbed the side of his head and shrugged.

"I dunno, but my hearing is a little off now, so I'd assume so."

Mario stepped on the Shroom, which turned it into another Poison Shroom. Link pointed at it frantically.

"See? What did I tell you guys?"

"Well, do we take it?" Peach asked. "Though having one Poison Shroom is enough for my tastes…"

"Well I've got a solution!" Sonic announced. He scooped up the Poison Shroom, then slam dunked it into the mouth of a Piranha Plant that was residing in a nearby pipe. It ate it, choked on it, then promptly died due to the over amount of poison. Everyone stared at the oddly horrific event while Sonic simply shrugged.

"So THAT'S what happens when you eat it…"

"Of course that's what happens when you eat it- they don't call it a Poison Shroom for nothing!" yelped Amy. "I almost feel bad for the Piranha…"

"Hey, it got the Shroom off our hands, didn't it?"

"I dunno, now I feel like I've got a lethal weapon in my bag…" trailed Link.

"Well, oh well, we've gotta keep going!" Kirby cried. "And it looks like we have to go around the pipe…taking control!"

Mario, Link, Sonic, and Kirby all threw up their hands and teleported into the third dimension, per usual. They simply walked around the pipes (even though they could have very easily jumped over them and took out the other Piranha Plant in the second pipe) then returned back to 2-D, when Peach and Amy were gliding casually across the gaps. Peach defeated an oncoming Gloomba afterwards. Kirby sweat dropped.

"Man, why have we been doing pointless things lately?"

Mario: *shrugs*

The awkwardness was quickly shoved away when they saw what they had to do next- jumped across a gap by using platforms that were going up…or down. Kirby just scoffed at the challenge and floated over to the other side. Peach and Amy giggled and followed suit.

"That's so cheap!" complained Sonic. "We actually have to jump over while they just cruise across!"

"Way to take the easy way out!" called Link, shaking a fist. "We'll show you how real men do it!"

"Have you noticed that whenever he says something like that he ultimately screws up?" Peach asked Kirby and Amy. Kirby nodded.

"It happens every time."

Link went to jump onto a platform…but actually undershot it and would have fell off the edge if Mario and Sonic weren't there to catch him.

"Hoo boy…"

"Maybe you ought to stop trying to prove how macho you are," suggested Sonic.

"You show off all the time!"

"Because I can pull it off!"

Mario had to snicker lightly at that. Link glared at them both. Sonic patted his friend on the back before curling into ball forming and zinging across the platforms like a ping pong ball and catching up with the other three no problem. Link sighed as he followed Mario.

"Things just love to go my way, don't they?"

. . .

Peach had found the exit pipe, which everyone was extremely grateful for and entered into immediately. The pipe came out above ground (of course) but into a fairly empty area…if you didn't count the fortress and soccer-playing Koopas up ahead.

"Jump!" Kirby cried, seeing a koopa kick a black shell over to them. All six of them leapt into the air, with Amy gliding over to the koopa and clonking it in the head with her boot.

"How do you like THIS?" she cried, whacking the shell the koopa pulled into with her hammer. It went flying like a rocket across the ground, putting any other koopa it came in contact with out of commission.

"Well that was ridiculously easy!" she giggled, walking ahead now on the enemy-less path.

"I wouldn't be too sure Amy…" Peach trailed as the rest of the gang trotted along. Mario jumped over a random pipe that happened to be in the middle of the field, only to look over and see an army of the soccer-Koopas launching shells from rows of ? Blocks. It was quite the sight.

"Look! There's a fortress!" Kirby pointed out, bounding off the pipe and whipping out his Final Cutter. "D'you think Francis is in there?"

"If he is, he'd better look out!" replied Peach sternly. "We'll show him for up and taking Tippi like that!"

Mario ran under all the ? Blocks, causing the Koopas to pull into their shells with defeat. Kirby gave each and everyone a kick while Peach defended against the continued onslaught of shells.

"We're coming in close…" Link murmured under his breath. Right before the group had made it to the fort, a loud voice yelled:

"HAAAALT!"

Everyone looked up to see yet another sport-playing Koopa, this one donning a blue uniform, glaring down at them.

"Are you talking to us?" Sonic spat back. The Koopa growled in his direction.

"Yeah, you! This is Team Bowser's Castle! And His Burliness doesn't like chumps like you geekin' up the place! You're about to get a complimentary nose job, courtesy of my shell! Come on out, fellas!"

"What?" "Did he say Team Bowser?" "Did he say Bowser in general?" "Anyone else hear that rumbling?" "I _feel_ the rumbling…" "That is not a good sign."

"Come and get some!" the Koopa roared as his backup started piling out from inside the fort, ready to attack. And not only that, but there was a series of structures that Bowser apparently had claims on.

Link brandished his sword and lead the way. "Let's move!"

Mario: Oh yeah!

Sonic leapt up onto the first fort, punching the Koopa that was taunting them in the chest, picking up the shell, then hurling it at all the other Koopas on that particular building. Mario gave him a nod of gratitude while checking to see what was next- a Hammer Bro. and a Bullet Bill Blaster!

"Oh man, I haven't seen one of those in a long time!" Kirby exclaimed. He floated up and motioned for the Blaster to shoot at him. "C'mon, bring it!"

"Kirby, what are you doing?" Peach asked while hiding under her umbrella, safely protected from the hammers.

"He knows what he's doing," Link assured. As the Blaster took aim at Kirby, Link slunk by unnoticed, then Jabbed at the Hammer Bro. Amy appeared next to him looking infuriated.

"I wanted to beat it! I despise Hammer Bros.- they're trying to take my thunder!"

"Whatever you say Amy…" Sonic shrugged.

The Blaster, meanwhile, finally fired a bullet at Kirby, who inhaled it with gusto and transformed into Bullet Bill Kirby.

"Yeeeeeeaaaaaahh!"

The pink puff gone bullet zipped around the area, almost having too much fun flying to even focus on flying. Mario then saw the final fortress in their wake.

And there was a giant red X on the bottom of its wall.

Mario grabbed Link's arm and frantically pointed at the X. The swordsman saw it as well, then shouted up to Kirby.

"Yo Kirby!"

"Yeah?" he called back, still having too much fun rocketing around.

"Slam into the red X! On the wall!"

Kirby stopped flying around for a moment, pausing in midair, and spotting the large, unmissable red X on the wall. He smirked and altered his course, slamming right into it, detonating, and blowing the entire fort up.

"YEEEEOOOW!"

Kirby simply reverted back to normal and bounced along the ground after the aftermath, grabbing his head in an attempt to get his eyes to stop spinning.

"Whoa, that was sweet…can we do it again? !"

"No, we can't…"

"Eek! Look!" Amy suddenly screamed, her eyes fixed at the figure falling out of the sky after being blasted up there from the detonation.

Or should I say, figures.

Bowser and Ganondorf landed hard on the ground, Bowser falling onto Ganondorf before the Dark Lord promptly pushed him off. The majority of the group wasn't sure if this was a good thing, or a very bad thing, but one thing that was certainly definite was the fact that Link was by no means glad to see Ganondorf.

"Please tell me someone didn't just blow up my awesome lair…" Bowser groaned as the gang apprehensively moved closer.

"Someone blew up our awesome lair…" Ganondorf protested, pushing himself up off the ground. Bowser was still a little out of it, but upon seeing a mustached man in red, he managed to quickly jumped to his feet.

"HEY! I know that 'stache from somewhere…MARIO!" he roared, voice brimming with hatred.

Mario: Glad to see you too.

Bowser's tone then turned pleasant. "…and Princess Peach? !"

Amy covered up her snickers as Peach folded her arms and stared at the ground. Link was eyeing Ganondorf darkly, but Ganondorf apparently didn't notice. Bowser then returned his attention back to Mario, which also turned his tone spiteful again.

"Why do you ALWAYS have to do that? That's like the 100th time you've shown up at my castle and screwed everything up! BWARG!"

"And I see you've managed to round up the crew as well…" mused Ganondorf. "Well, let's make things a little more interesting…"

Bowser jumped into the air, then slammed into the ground, sending Peach, Sonic, Amy, and Kirby flying away. Link lunged forward at the last moment, tackling Ganondorf to the ground as two brown walls appeared. They kept Mario and Link in, and kept the others out.

"Now you've entered a fortress of PAIN, Mario!" Bowser boomed.

"And apparently you too, Link!" Ganondorf growled, blasting him away with a huge amount of dark power. Link toppled into the air, and would have hit the wall if Mario didn't grab his arm and set him upright.

"No more sequels! It's gonna end right here, right now, ONCE AND FOR ALL!" Bowser continued, his face filled with glee at the thought of destroying a hero. Instantly after, he spewed fire at Mario and Link, which both of them quickly avoided by rolling out of the way.

"Aw man, this weak!" yelled Sonic, punching and kicking at the wall. "We can't even help!"

"I bet Bowser put up the walls so Peach couldn't get hurt," Amy chuckled.

"I think it was more of the fact that he didn't want his butt handed to him by a girl," smirked Peach in return. "But I do hope Mario is all right…"

"I'm sure he'll be fine," stated Kirby, poking at the wall as if there was some kind of spy hole he could peer through. "If there's anyone to be worrying about, it would be Link."

"And why's that?" Sonic questioned. Kirby shrugged.

"I dunno, but did you see the look he gave Ganondorf? Not to mention that wrestling tackle move he performed…"

"Oh, I take it that you don't know either!" Sonic exclaimed, his voice a bit stung. Kirby cocked his head.

"What do I not know?"

"Sonic…" Peach and Amy warned. Sonic gave them both a look.

"Hey, he has a right to know, ya know."

"WHAT DON'T I KNOW?"

"That Link didn't invite his best friends to his own wedding."

. . .

Mario ran up the side of the wall, bounding off, doing a backflip, and landing stylishly onto Bowser's nose. The Koopa King stopped his spamming of fire to grab at his bruised snout.

"OW! Darn it, Mario! At least play fair!"

Mario: *sweat drops*

"Here Mario, you might need him," Link called blankly, tossing Boomer in the plumber's direction, not taking his eyes off of Ganondorf. Ganondorf just stared at Link quizzically.

"I know you're my arch enemy and everything, but I have no idea why you're so riled up at me," he grumbled darkly, bringing his leg upward and making contact with Link. Link went skyrocketing, but swiftly came back down with his sword pointed downwards.

"You know exactly why I'm 'riled up' you jerk!"

Ganondorf sidestepped out of the way, Link landing on the ground and getting his sword stuck. Wonderful.

On the other side of the battle area, Bowser was hopelessly chasing after Mario, who was running around away from Bowser's grasp without breaking a sweat. Bowser nearly gave up with the extensive chasing, taking a break by breathing more flames at Mario.

"Prepare to be barbecued, plumber!"

Mario flipped over the fire, skidded around the side of Bowser, then planted Boomer right next to him. Once he was out of range, Mario snapped his fingers and detonated the Pixl, doing damage to Bowser once again. Furious, Bowser jumped up with plans to land on Mario, but Mario set Boomer down and ran out of the way. Bowser landed, Mario blew up the bomb.

"ARGH! Knock that off!"

Mario just grinned sheepishly.

. . .

"But…but why? Did we do something wrong?" blubbered Kirby. Sonic shrugged.

"Who knows. I'm still mad at him for that, and I think he knows it too."

"Of course he knows it, you stare him down every chance you get!" snapped Amy. "Personally I think you're grilling him a bit too hard for that."

"What if Peach had went and planned a wedding but didn't bother inviting you?"

"I would never forgot to invite Amy, or Zelda for that matter!" Peach protested. "Why, I'd do everything in my power to make sure that they were there! They are my best friends, after all."

Sonic raised an eyebrow. "Exactly."

Peach and Amy's angered expressions softened when they caught on with what Sonic was trying to say. Kirby, despite being the occasional genius, had no clue what was being implied.

"What am I missing…?"

Sonic sighed and turned away from the group. "Sorry guys, I'm just a bit sore that my best friend didn't even want me at his wedding…"

. . .

Link had managed to free his sword and was now hacking widely at his foe. Ganondorf managed to block each blow with his own massive sword, though he had to admit he was very confused about Link's actions.

"Fool, I have no idea what you are talking about."

"Yes you do!" Link fought back, plowing his shoulder into Ganondorf's stomach and bulldozing him into the wall. The Dark Lord felt his back thud against it, his eyes now filled with rage.

"What is wrong with you?"

"What's wrong with you?" Link spat back, trying to hold off Ganondorf's sword with his own. "You married my girlfriend, who apparently has been attracted to you this whole time!"

"IDIOT!" the wizard boomed, grabbed Link and tossing him into an unsuspecting Bowser. Bowser toppled over, which allowed Mario to sneak in another blow- then blow up Boomer. "It's not like I married her because I had feelings for her or something-"

Link hacked Ganondorf in the back, now snarling. "I bet you did it in some attempt to weaken me emotionally, didn't you?"

"Now you're being ridiculous-"

"YOU DID!"

The next thing Ganondorf knew he was on the ground, being hacked at like he was some sort of Christmas ham.

"I did not," Ganondorf howled back, performing a sweep kick that knocked Link's legs out from under him. "I was promised world domination if I did it! Of course, I was lied to, and teleported here with the rest of my team."

"That includes me!" Bowser piped up before Mario came out of nowhere and kicked him into the nose. "Sweet Star Spirits, why do you always aim for the NOSE?"

Link faltered the slightest bit, but he continued to try and hit Ganondorf. "…even if that much is true, Zelda was awfully willing to go along with it-"

Link felt a strong fist strike his jaw, sending him to the ground within moments of the sharp contact.

"She was hypnotized! Didn't anyone tell you that? My goddess, she resisted as long as she could before she was forced to cave into hypnosis! Obviously you woke up from unconsciousness at the wrong time." Ganondorf grabbed Link by the tunic collar and lit his hand up in dark flames. "Now get out of the way!"

"WAH!"

. . .

"I just thought of something absolutely terrible…" whispered Amy, leaning against the wall they were trapped behind, hugging her knees to her chest.

"What could be worse than what I keep complaining about?" grunted Sonic, kicking the ground.

"You know how Link may possibly be the 'Man in Green', and whoever the 'Man in Green' is determines which Prognosticus is correct, right? And you know how I said whoever that was might not even need to make a decision, or could have possibly made one already?"

"Yeah…" Peach replied. Kirby was in her face moments later.

"What are you trying to get at, Amy? Tell us!"

"…what if the decision was whether we went to Link's wedding or not? What if because he chose not to invite us, that allowed the Void in the sky to be born thanks to that dreaded series of events, which in turn causes the Dark Prognosticus to come true?"

"Amy," Sonic said sharply, glaring down at her. "Don't you dare think like that!"

"I'm sorry Sonic, but…it does seem to make some sense…"

"I'd hate to admit that it does too…" Kirby sighed. "Could this all be for nothing?"

"We can't just throw this out the window now!" Peach protested, angrily holding her arms to her sides. "That's just an assumption, Amy, not necessarily what happened. We've still got a chance! Besides…we need to free Tippi. I'd hate just to stop now and leave her in the clutches of that nerd."

"You're absolutely right Peach! You took the words out of my mouth actually," Sonic confessed.

"Now we just have to hope Mario and Link make it by okay!" Kirby exclaimed, attempting to try and see through the wall again but failing. Amy just shifted uncomfortably.

. . .

"Well, we're on a roll…" grunted Link, who was propped upside down against a wall with Mario standing next to him in a fierce battle pose.

Mario: I am!

"You're helpful…but I can't believe I was totally wrong about Zelda! Now I feel even guiltier…and she's gone…and I don't even deserve to marry her…what I do deserve is to stay upside down like this and let Bowser burn me to a crunchy crisp and Ganondorf to slice me up into several pieces and-"

Mario: You deserve to get a grip.

He grabbed Link and pulled him out of the way, Bowser burning a section of the wall and Ganondorf stabbing at air. Link was somewhat slumped in his stance.

"I feel drained of all motivation…"

Mario shook him, telling him that they needed to work together to defeat the two members of Team B.E.G.

"Aw, Mario…"

Mario pushed Link out of the way of another attack, then quickly teleported them into 3-D.

At their sudden disappearance, Bowser went insane due to being totally confused.

"WHAT? How DARE they just up and disappear like that! We are in the middle of a battle to the DEATH and they have the nerve to chicken out!"

"They didn't go far," Ganondorf grumbled. "I still sense them…"

"Wait, you can sense people?"

"Let's not go into detail."

**Meanwhile in 3-D-**

Mario knew they only had a few seconds, but he also knew that if he didn't straighten Link up, there would be no way he could keep them both safe and defeat Bowser and Ganondorf. He got Link to stand up straight, though he couldn't make his expression any brighter.

"I'm really not in the mood to fight…can I swap out for Sonic or something?"

Mario: No, you can't.

"Why not?"

Mario went on to explain that unless they beat Bowser and Ganondorf, they would be stuck behind the two walls, and then each and every world would be sucked up into the Void and then it really would be Link's fault. Link blinked as if he was smacked in the face.

"All right, I really wouldn't be able to forgive myself if I let THAT happen…" he sighed. "But I already can't forgive myself for doing that to Zelda…"

Mario gave him a sympathetic pat, which seemed to do the trick to get him back into action. Link determinedly flipped back into 2-D, knocking Ganondorf in the back with his sword after appearing out of nowhere. Bowser was completely bamboozled once again, and was knocked even sillier with a clonk from Mario's boot.

"What the…"

"They're back," Ganondorf said bluntly, attempting to swat at Mario and Link striking him from at directions while Bowser was spinning in a circle completely dazed. The koopa king finally shook it off and heaved flames in the heroes' direction. Mario and Link ran straight toward the fire, Ganondorf on t heir heels, then veered out of the way. Ganondorf kept running and trampled right into the flames.

"ARGH! You idiot!"

"Well why would you run right into fire? Even I'm not that stupid!"

Ganondorf glared menacingly as he danced around in an attempt to put out the flames.

"Stop, drop, and roll!" Link cried, hacking him with his sword once again. Mario then crashed into Ganondorf's side which managed to push the massive man to the ground, then both of them rolled him all the way to Bowser, which also knocked him down.

"You have a very bad tendency to LAND ON ME!" Ganondorf howled.

"Ugh…no time to question that- I will not lose again!"

Bowser jumped into the air as high as he could go, in another attempt to squash his enemies. The duo ran next to Ganondorf, who was still lying on the ground, getting Bowser to target that spot. Ganondorf instantly knew what about to happen and tried to get away, but he just wasn't fast enough.

"Watch what you're doing-"

"I'M GOING TO BOWERIZE YOU- Uh oh…"

Mario and Link burst into a fit of laughter at Ganondorf's expression. Infuriated, both Bowser and a discombobulated Ganondorf arose again and prepared to attack. Bowser sent out a huge wave of fire breath while Ganondorf conjured up an unavoidable wall of purple fire. Or was it…?

Mario gave a nod to Link, cuing for them to both run up the wall, then flipping over the purple fire and landing on the baddies.

"Ooh, that was a fail…" groaned Ganondorf.

"You and your negativity…"

Mario held out Boomer to Link, as if suggesting he should do the honors. Link nodded, took Boomer, ignited his fuse beside the villains, snapped his fingers, and won the battle. Bowser and Ganondorf were blown briefly into the air, before once again crashing back down, Bowser landing flat on his stomach and Ganondorf on a rock. Mario and Link exchanged a high five, Bowser admitted defeat and the walls finally came down.

"Noooo! I HATE Mario! It's…it's not fair!" pouted Bowser.

"Mario!" Peach and Amy gaped, running over.

"Link!" exclaimed Sonic and Kirby, heading over to him.

"Are you OK?" Peach asked, walking up to the plumber in red that was still staring Bowser down. His expression quickly changed to a more light-hearted one as he nodded.

"That's good to hear!" Amy said cheerfully. With Princess Peach's arrival, Bowser was once again full of energy.

"Ahhhhhh! Princess Peach! My lovely wife!"

"Your…WIFE! ?"

Sonic started cracking up after he made sure Link was all right. "I'm sorry Peach, but that sounded so ridiculous that I can't help but laugh…"

Amy kept snickering in the background, and she still didn't cork it even when Peach gave her another warning glare. Bowser was stunned at Peach's shocked reaction.

"WHAT? Are you kidding me? How could you forget our big day!"

"That…sham was not a wedding!" Peach screeched.

"Ain't that the truth!" snapped Link, Ganondorf, and Sonic, though Amy was the only disappointed one.

"What are you doing here anyway, Bowser?" Peach continued.

"How should I know? I was locked up in Count Bleck's stupid castle…When all of a sudden, BAM! Me and the minions wake up face down in this field, and the rest of my team somehow ended up here as well. Then we found this awesome castle, and we thought, why not make ourselves a lair?"

"Wait, you said you woke up here with the rest of your team…how come Eggman isn't with you guys?" Sonic asked.

"Actually, we sent him out on a rampage with that machine of his to clear more land so we could expand our fortress even more right before you showed up," Ganondorf explained with a shrug. "However, he has yet to return. I wonder if he fell into that vast ocean just beyond here. Wouldn't that be entertaining?"

"You don't even care?" Amy lurched. "Well, it is Eggman we're talking about, but you make that sound like it's a good thing! Which is suppose it is, but not necessarily in your point of view considering he could be an evil ally-"

"Well you see, Team Bowser-"

"Hey! We nicknamed them Team BEG, remember?" Link interrupted Peach. Peach sighed and corrected herself.

"Well you see, Team BEG…We really need your help. Why don't you come with us?"

Mario: O.O

"What're you thinking Peach?" yelled Link, Kirby, Amy, Sonic, and Ganondorf. Peach simply shrugged- they really could use their help, if you thought about it.

"Wait…WHAT?" roared Bowser.

Mario: *takes a deep breath* Bleck got you married just to make a Chaos Heart so that he can destroy the world.

"That's the most I've ever heard Mario say at once," Kirby stated.

"Yes," Peach added. "And that is why we need you to help us find the Pure Hearts!"

"Ugh, but…I don't wanna lug Ganondorf around!" whined Link. "I'm still not exactly ready to forgive and forget yet. My heart, it still aches…"

Ganondorf folded his arms and rolled his eyes. "The feeling is mutual...except for the broken heart part."

Bowser also folded his arms and turned away. "No. I don't wanna. I'd think about it if it was for you Peach, but there's NO WAY I'm helping Team Mario!"

Link, Kirby, Sonic, Amy and Ganondorf cheered.

"We don't have time for you to be a big baby about this!" Peach retorted. "Come on Bowser…Please?"

"But…but I'm Bowser! I'm grade A, 100% prime-cut final boss! I'm going to take over the world any day now! Now way am I helping Mario! He's always trashing my awesome plans!"

"You tell her Bowser!" cried Kirby.

"Don't cave in!" Ganondorf shouted.

Peach put on her sweetest look and smiled at Bowser. "Pleeeeeeease? For me?"

"No. I don't wanna."

"Yes!" praised Amy and Link, slapping a high five. Mario, however, had one last convincing trick up his sleeve- and it had to work, especially if Bowser could somehow manage saying no to Peach.

Mario: If the worlds end, there won't be any worlds for you to rule.

"NO! Mario used reverse-psychology!" wailed Sonic. "Ya can't trump THAT!"

Peach caught on quickly and looked thoughtful. "And what will happen to your poor minions who were caught by Count Bleck? They've been brainwashed! They now do HIS evil bidding, not your evil bidding…Now your minions will have to toil under a different cruel and merciless master…"

"Welp, Bowser's coming with us, I sense…" sighed Kirby.

"Dang," murmured Ganondorf.

"Hey, we're not happy about it either, girl stealer!" hissed Link. Ganondorf glared back

"I told you, I had no intentions of "messing with your love life". If you have any plans of harassing me this whole trip-"

"You bet the Triforce I'm never going to let you forget it!"

Bowser meanwhile was experiencing an absolute conundrum. "…but…but…Why you…"

"And the powers of reverse-psychology begin to work their magic ways…" mused Amy.

"Merrrrf…BWARG! FINE! I'll join your stupid quest. You happy?"

Link, Kirby, Sonic, Amy, and Ganondorf: No.

"Oh, thank you Bowser, you're so sweet!" Peach gushed.

"NO! I'M NOT SWEET! And I'm not helping Mario just to save a bunch of worlds. I'm only doing it so I can rule one day. So don't all cuddly with me, Mario!"

Mario: No problem here.

"All right, Bowser, you big sweetie…"

Link glanced around and sighed. "I suppose I should do an intro…ahem…Bowser has joined the team! With his fiery breath, he can burn down anything that happens to be in his way! Also, when Team B.E.G. takes control, he will go on a rampage of destruction! His battle ability is simply having a higher attack and defense than everyone, but being a lot slower."

"I guess I'm tagging along too…" grunted Ganondorf. "I'm with Bowser just for the sake of not wanting a lack of worlds to rule."

Silence.

"…don't I get an intro?"

"You probably won't- I didn't get one either," shrugged Peach.

"Well there's no way I'm giving Ganondorf one-"

"So I'll do it!" cried Kirby. "Ahem…Ganondorf has joined the team! Using his dark magic, he can cast enemies and obstacles alike out of their way. Also, when Team B.E.G. takes control, he'll blast anything he come in contact with. His battle ability is having his attacks be very difficult to guard against."

Link frowned at Kirby, Peach continued to complain about how she never got an intro, Sonic was wondering why Mario was all for allowing his enemy to join in the quest, and the very same Koopa that had harassed them before was now shouting, "Lord Bowser!"

The soccer-Koopa, two Hammer Bros., a regular Koopa, and a Goomba arrived on the scene.

"Your Crabbiness! Are you leaving us?"

"What? Oh yeah…minions! Hold down the fort until I return."

"Your lair is safe with us, sir! Oh, sir, it seems like that Count Bleck has brainwashed some of you loyal henchpeople. They're probably going to be forced to attack you, so feel free to dole out punishment!"

"Of course, we'd love to come along and defend you…" continued a Hammer Bro. "…You know, we'd just, uh, get in the way, Your Heinousness…"

"Clobber that Count for us!" piped up the koopa.

"Yeah! Anyone who wears a cape and a monocle is just begging for a beating!"

"Long live King Bowser!"

"We'll miss you, Your Surliness! (Paaaaarty!)"

"Oh, you guys…"

"I wish I had minions that loved me," murmured Ganondorf.

"They love me because I am awesome." he then turned to a beaming Mario and Peach and the rest of the team that was utterly disappointed. "Fine…c'mon. Let's get your stupid Precious Heart or whatever you call it."

Mario: This is going to be a long trip…

"I SAID MOVE IT!"

The silence became awkward as the group, now including one overly obnoxious villain and one that was apparently keeping to himself, advanced forward. To everyone's great relief, the Star Block was not too far away, and Mario struck it without another thought. Another leg of their adventure had been completed.

. . .

With Team Bowser in the party, the three teams of heroes made a most unlikely combination. Peach attempted to explain the quest to Bowser, but it made him grunt in confusion. As Mario walked ahead, he spotted something hat made him briefly stop and stare…

"What is it Mario?" asked Peach, as she turned to see the blue expanse ahead. The great, glittering waves of the Tile Pool ahead stretched as far as the eye could see. Fort Francis was somewhere across the water…

And Sonic was by no means very willing to go through with that.

* * *

**Good gosh, I forgot it was Christmas Eve and I have to leave in literally three minutes. o.O I would update tomorrow, but I won't be around tomorrow! Or the day after either...so I'll say Merry Christmas now! ^^**


	19. Bloops Ahoy!

Super Paper Mario X

Chapter 18: Bloops Ahoy!

"I say we leave the baby behind," scoffed Ganondorf as the gang stood at the edge of the ocean. "He may be able to resist hypnosis, but it's very sad he can't even handle a little water-"

"He can't help he's a hydrophobe!" Link defended, glancing at Sonic who was cowering in a small tree. "I bet there's something _you're_ afraid of, Ganondorf."

"HA! I fear nothing! I am to be feared, fool!"

"You're not helping!" Amy snapped. "You might be on our side but that doesn't mean I'll hold back if you irritate me or my Sonic!"

"Sonic, really, what's there to be afraid of?" Kirby asked, staring up into Sonic's hiding place.

"You're not making me go in there, no matter what you do!"

"We've done it before," scoffed Link.

"Name the times, then."

Mario: *cues flashback*

. . .

_"Well, old boy, let's away. Back to Toad Town with us!" Kolorado hurried off to the whale._

_"Yay! We get to ride the whale again!" cheered Bombette. Sonic's face went white._

_"Did you say…whale…as in one in the…water?" he gulped._

_"Yeah…it's the only way to get back!" Samus explained, something dark hiding in her voice. Sonic clung to a tree._

_"NO! No way! There is no way possible you are making me step foot on that whale of yours!"_

_Samus grinned evilly as she lifted her canon. Everyone gasped._

_"Sonic…I recommend you move before you are blown to pieces!" Kirby warned. "With one missile, she can wipe out the unsuspecting!"_

_"She can fry my tail! I'm not going!" Sonic grunted. Samus rolled her eyes and everyone shielded their eyes. Sonic cried out, and when the smoke cleared, a little patch of blue had been removed from Sonic's head. He let go of the tree and darted for the whale. Samus chuckled and gave Kirby a high five._

_. . ._

"Okay, so THAT happened, but it's not like it happened twice-"

. . .

_"To you, I must say AHOY! I was wise to chose you as my captain! Ahoy to me, as well! What do you say? Should we set sail?"_

_"You know, I think I left my car running-"_

_"Sonic, you don't own a car…let alone old enough to drive one!"_

_Everyone quickly jumped on Sonic before he got any ideas of jumping off the ship at the last moment, ignoring the pricks of pain from his quills. The hydrophobic hedgehog let out a wail._

_"Very well! To the sea! Raise the anchor and set sail for thrills and emotion! And romance! And money! Our destination is dread Keelhaul Key!" Flavio announced._

_"WAIT UP!" Bomberto's little friend yelped before climbing aboard also. Sonic started to panic._

_"Noooo! Let me off this thing!"_

_"Too late!"_

_The boat instantly pulled away from the harbor, getting farther and farther away from the dock. Flavio walked over and patted Sonic's back once everyone claimed it was safe to get off._

_"Don't worry, me boy! You and Pa-Patch can be look-outs!"_

_"Like I said, staring at miles of water. Whoo."_

. . .

"Psh, what's the point of even being afraid of water?" snickered Bowser as Sonic embarrassedly sweat dropped. "Everyone knows that you can breathe underwater!"

"Uh, not unless you don't want to defy the Laws!"

"We've already done that enough this adventure, now get your butt in the water!" Amy demanded.

"No! You guys can just go on ahead and get tortured by the liquid depths, and then when you get the Pure Heart and Tippi back, you can come back to get me! And I won't have moved from this very spot-"

"GRAW-RGH!"

Bowser's fire breath caused the tree to burst out in massive flames, also setting a few quills on the hedgehog in question in flames.

"MOTHER OF CHAOS, I'M ON FIRE!"

He took a huge leap out of the tree and dove into the water, dousing out the flames instantly. Everyone turned to Bowser, who was looking quite pleased with himself.

"Well? Go after him and make sure he doesn't come out of the water again so we can finally get going!"

"Did you really need to nearly _singe_ him?" Peach asked.

"Were you people doing anything? No, all I saw were flashbacks!" Ganondorf retorted. Peach frowned at him while Amy and Kirby jumped into the water as well, grabbing Sonic as he was on his way up. Like Bowser had said, they were able to breathe underwater, so there were no problems in that category. Bowser was the next one in, slowly sinking toward the bottom of the Tile Pool.

Link grabbed Peach's arm and pulled her away from Ganondorf. "I think he's brought enough females down for once, thank you very much-"

"It wasn't my fault, let it go!"

"I actually don't blame him for not letting it go," admitted Peach, still being pulled away. Ganondorf muttered something under his breath as he snuck a glance at Mario. Mario simply shrugged. The Dark Lord heaved a sigh then took off into the water. Mario took a quick look around to make sure everyone really was in the water (and Sonic hadn't escaped and made a run for it), then cannonballed in himself.

As Mario floated down, he was slowly able to hear the sound of massive complaining. No doubt that it belonged to Sonic.

"That was a VERY cheap move, ya hear?"

"It got you in the water, didn't it?" sneered Bowser.

"You should have just left me!"

"There's no way we would have left you, Sonic!" Amy exclaimed, gripping her hero in a death hug.

"Amy, let me go or I really will run out of air!"

Mario did have to question the fact of how they could breath underwater- he was certain that they weren't part fish or something, as far as he knew. Well, there was no point in debating over that. It was a good that they WERE able to, anyway. Amy and Kirby finally got Sonic to calm down a bit, Bowser and Ganondorf stood off to the side mocking him, and Link and Peach had just touched back down on the ground.

"So where do we go from here? Do we just swim?" Kirby asked.

"I can't swim! I need my floatie- er, I mean, a floatation device," Sonic coughed.

"You don't need a floatation device when you're underwater," jeered Ganondorf.

"…I don't like him. He keeps outwitting me."

Ganondorf smirked in amusement as Mario was the first to venture forward, which finally did the trick to get everyone to follow suit. The waters ahead were quite vast, and involved a lot of swimming. Sonic simply stuck to walking along the ocean floor, only jumping/swimming when necessary. Other than Link giving Ganondorf the occasional glare, nothing of particular interest was going on.

"…Do you really think Eggman could be down here somewhere?" Amy asked, killing the silence.

"Who knows?" shrugged Bowser. "Maybe he fell down a hole or something before he even reached the ocean."

"What reason would he have for being down here anyway," Ganondorf wondered. "We sent him out to clear more of the Bitlands, not go for a swim."

"Maybe something happened then!" exclaimed Kirby as he took out any enemies in their path, thanks to being a bit of an expert swimmer. "We have no way of knowing if we're close to Eggman anyway- Team B.E.G. never got any watches!"

"Actually, we can communicate from Eggman's teleportation device," Sonic corrected. "…however, we can only contact Eggman from Tails' watch. And we are lacking him at the moment…"

Peach had other thoughts. "I don't know…this is sort of nice at the moment. We're not fretting over every little thing, and pardon the pun, but we're simply going with the flow right now."

Link had to snicker at the pun anyway, Sonic sighing and bringing his palm to his face. Mario agreed with Peach's comment though- how long would this stress-less part of their journey last? In fact, it was by a miracle that Link wasn't even attempting to murder his arch foe at the moment.

"Hey! A Mushroom!" "Hey! A Coin Flower!" Hey! A Blooper! …well, not anymore."

"Ugh, do we have to swim all the way to the other side?" complained Sonic, climbing over two stacked blocks and frowning. "It's so boring! Not to mention wet!"

"Yeah, do we have to swim to the other side?" echoed Amy, swimming furiously around with Kirby to try and collect as many coins as possible.

"Isn't that what Barry said?" Peach replied questioningly.

Sonic winced.

"…what? Was it something I said?"

"N-no…well, yes, but I was really wincing at something else…"

He pointed up ahead to an undertow, water pulling things in a downward direction. It was very likely that once you swam through, you wouldn't get back out…or was it?"

"Ha! That's no big deal!" bellowed Bowser.

"I remember when Eggman got stuck in one of those," snickered Ganondorf.

"Yeah, me too! I had to save him!" Bowser turned to the group and put on a smug look. "So, what we're trying to say is that this is no big deal. Watch and learn, wusses."

Sonic scowled as the rest of the group watched with interest as Bowser and Ganondorf attempted to swim through. Turns out, it was all-too simple.

"Well if two large evil icons can get through that's enough for me!" Amy shrugged, swimming through as well.

"Aw, you guys are making me look even more chicken," whined Sonic. "I can't help that I'm out of my element here!"

"It's not like we'll hold it against you," Kirby replied, doing a carefree backstroke through the undertow. Sonic let out a moan. As Link and Peach followed through, Mario took Sonic's arm and gently pulled him through, knowing that he either wouldn't attempt to get by, or meekly attempt and somehow manage to get stuck.

"ARGH! NO! Mario, what do you think you are doing? You're going to kill me! I…I can't do it! I'm afraid, if you haven't guessed that already! Please! Ya gotta have mercy-"

Mario: We're already through.

"…"

"Awkward…" sang Kirby.

"And to think there was a time we were actually afraid of him," snorted Bowser.

Sonic: T.T

"This is going to strip me of my dignity…if we ever make it out of here!"

Mario sighed and shook his head, pointing forward to try and get everyone to follow in that direction. Whenever they came across enemies, it was usually Kirby and Amy or Link and Peach that did the damage. Bowser and Ganondorf would only attack if foes somehow interfered with them, while Mario was already stuck at the back of the pack trying to keep Sonic in check.

"Hey!" Link suddenly called, swimming down toward a set of yellow-pole objects that were jetting out of the ground. "Check this out!"

"I wonder what these could possibly be here for…" mused Kirby, floating down to the bottom of the ocean and poking at one. "Not even my well-tuned mind can figure it out…but maybe the answer will come, in time."

"Oh brother!"

"Well, it seems there's a dead end…" trailed Peach, sort of sounding like Tippi. "But there's a pipe all holed up in that box of blocks. I wonder why it's, pardon the pun, blocked off?"

Link burst out laughing anyway. "I must be rubbing off on you guys- that was a good one, Peach!"

"That wasn't intended!"

"Well," Amy stated, swimming up and whacking the blocks with her hammer. "How do we get by?"

"When in doubt, flip about!" exclaimed Kirby.

"And if that doesn't work we can't use Tippi…" sighed Peach.

Mario gave a sympathetic look to Peach, then took control and threw his arms into the air…or just over his head, considering there was no air underwater for his arms to be thrown up in. Link, Sonic, and Kirby followed after, and the four found out that in 3-D, the box of blocks wasn't really a box of blocks after all.

**Meanwhile back in 2-D-**

"Where in this world did they disappear off to again?" roared Bowser. "How do they DO that?"

"They are able to teleport into the third dimension, like I've told you," Peach stated. "And when they do, we just wait around until they reenter 2-D, and we'll somehow pop up next to them."

"What kind of inane logic allows THAT to happen?" grumbled Ganondorf.

"The lack of logic itself!" Amy replied in a bubbly fashion.

**With Team Mario-**

The team had jumped up onto the platform with the pipe (turns out it was separate from the "blockage") then returned to 2-D. Peach, Amy, Bowser, and Ganondorf appeared next to them…and it suddenly turned out very crowded.

"Aw jeez! Claustrophobic AND hydrophobic! Eek!" Sonic gagged, wedged between Link and Bowser.

"ACK! Who's the person closest to the top of the pipe?" gasped Kirby, who was being sat on by Peach, who in turn was holding Amy away from her face.

"Ganondorf…" huffed Link, with Mario all twisted up in Link, Ganondorf, and Amy.

"GWARGH! Just someone make some room!" yelled Bowser. "A studly hunk of Koopa like myself needs his room!"

"It would be easier to get through the pipe if Mario wasn't under my arm and there wasn't a pink boot in my face!" snarled Ganondorf.

"Hey! That is more red than pink, you know!"

"A vermillion, maybe?"

"No, maybe scarlet…"

"It's a reddish-pink, either way-"

"Can we stop discussing the color hue of Amy's boots and get through this stupid pipe?"

Ganondorf shoved Amy and Mario to the side, crushing Peach and Link, and to an extent Sonic and Kirby, at the same time. Then, with this small window of opportunity, he jumped down the pipe, Amy and Mario falling over and into the pipe themselves. Peach got off of Kirby and Link shuffled away from Sonic, giving Kirby room to move and for Bowser to stretch his arms (and ultimately hit Sonic in the face). Sonic growled as Peach, Link, and Kirby went down the pipe.

"I'm going to remember this!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever…" Bowser shrugged, heading down the pipe as well. Sonic stayed behind a few moments, shaking his head.

"Man, today's just not my day…"

**Moments Later in the Next Area-**

"AUGH! A TENTACLE NEARLY GRABBED ME- AUGH! A WHIRLPOOL! AUGH! I'M GETTING OVERTAKEN-"

"Sonic!" "Honestly?" "Goodness…" "Mama mia!"

Everyone stared at the hedgehog, who had been lightly swimming when a huge blooper tentacle reached up and poked him. Naturally, this scared the daylights out of him, causing him to flounder backwards into a whirlpool. The rest of the gang was already on the other side, still giving Sonic looks.

"I _may_ have overreacted…but, ahem, we should keep going. Yeah."

Mario made no more comments on that particular episode and swam onwards. Everyone wanted to continue forward, but when they saw that Mario found a hidden area, they followed after.

"Sweet area above water! YES!" cheered Sonic, springing out of the water and into the secret ledge. "Ooh! There's a pipe here too! And in 3-D…a tiny chest!"

"Someone's a little happy…" murmured Ganondorf under his breath.

"Ugh, finally a break from swimming!" Link gaped, trudging onto the dry floor.

"I found a Gold Bar!" Sonic called, waving it over his head as he returned. "It's worth, like, 100 coins!"

"Only a 100? That's not worth anything," scoffed Ganondorf.

"Seriously- you find something gold back in Hyrule, and it's got a minimum worth of 300," shrugged Link.

"Hmph! Rings might be worth less than Rupees, but they're sure worth more than coins!" Amy added.

"Coins are more convenient though," Peach pointed out. "You have to hunt for your Rings and Rupees. Nearly everyone in the Mushroom Kingdom has coins!"

"Why are we discussing currency?" Bowser questioned, completely lost in the subject.

"Uh, guys? Obviously placed pipe here?" Kirby asked, sitting on said pipe. "I'm going down!"

He jumped up, then into the pipe. The group froze from their random ramblings and decided to follow Kirby.

. . .

"Okay…this place is cool…" Sonic trailed as the group marveled the hidden area. "Sure beats treading underwater.

"Yeah, whatever," grunted Ganondorf, his hand glowing purple as he blasted a Spiky Goomba out of their path. On the other side of the small hall, Sonic instantly took his words back.

"Ya know what? I think I'll just wait here-"

"Get in there!" Amy yelled, shoving Sonic over the edge of the floor and into a new set of water. "I have never seen him so wound up like this…"

"Well, I'm pretty sure he does his best to stay away from water, and now he's going crazy because he actually has to face his fear," suggested Link, jumping into the water afterwards. "That's what I think."

"Embrace it, man! Seriously," chimed Dashell. Sonic poked his head out of the water and gritted his teeth.

"I've just realized…the Pixls have been awfully silent," noted Kirby, once everyone else was in the water.

Thoreau shrugged. "The loss of Tippi is quite a downer…"

"It gives off a sad vibe, SSS-BOOM!" added Boomer.

"Y'all think we'll get 'er back?" Slim asked.

"Of course we will!" Dashell bellowed. "I'm sure she's perfectly fine as well! All we have to do is get out of this ocean!"

"The fast flying thing sure is positive…" Ganondorf stated.

"Yeah, quite a shock, eh Mr. Negativity?" Bowser smirked. "At least when I make a totally awesome plan, I tell myself that it'll work!"

"Too bad it never does."

"See? There you go again!"

"Do you guys always bicker like this?" Peach questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"It's much worse when Eggman's around," the Koopa King replied.

"I wonder how you guys even managed to stay together," sighed Kirby, shaking his head.

"Sorry that we're not as happy-go-lucky as you fools," Ganondorf murmured.

Kirby held up his hands. "Whoa, sor-ry!"

Mario really wished he had his hammer on him, but alas, he didn't. All he could do was swim toward the red-rainbow door at the end of the small pool. Somehow, he managed to get everyone's attention and ushered them into the next room.

. . .

As soon as they were in there, the door locked itself behind bars.

"GRAH! The heck is THIS?" Bowser roared, grabbing the bars to try and break them. "We're trapped now!"

"There's always a catch to being trapped in a room" Sonic explained. "It basically means "this room is going to force you to get an object and you can't leave until you do".

"I also take it we can beat the tar out of everything in this room!" Amy cried, swimming up and striking a Cheep Cheep.

"That would be my guess as well!" Peach exclaimed as she kicked a Blooper, then hit it upside the head with her parasol.

"Ha! Watch this and WEEP!" Bowser chortled, he and Ganondorf floating toward the top of the room. "Why don't we take over for awhile?"

"Neyah hah hah!" Ganondorf boomed, making a few Bloopers light up in purple flames, nearly becoming fried calamari. Bowser, meanwhile, dealt some pain with his own flames, defeating any other Cheep Cheeps in the room.

"And just to make sure we don't have any stragglers…" Ganondorf began, raising his hand and creating a wall of purple flames. "Take THIS!"

"GRAH!"

Bowser chased after any other enemies they had missed, driving them right into Ganondorf's fire wall. Once the last sea creature was felled, a giant chest came into existence.

"Ooh! I hope it's a super upgrade!" Kirby cried, already running to the chest to open it.

"I've gotta admit, that battling was sort of impressive," Sonic stated, perched on the single yellow post in the room. "If only you weren't bad guys…"

"That's just what we bring to the party!" Bowser boasted, making a muscle in front of Peach. "A ton of raw power!"

"You're still too slow."

Ganondorf folded his arms in an 'I could care less' fashion. "Just don't mention it."

Meanwhile, Mario and Kirby were all over the large chest that appeared, and both were hoping to claim a Super Upgrade, though Mario had the better feeling it was going to be a Pixl. Kirby pried the top of the chest open, and what did they know? A Pixl shaped like a ton-weight (or simply a trapezoid) came floating out.

"Aw great, another floaty thing," huffed Ganondorf.

"Hey, this one looks manlier than the other ones," Bowser pointed out, taking some interest in the new Pixl.

"HEY! In case you haven't heard, I throw a lot of girth around these parts. And I'm gonna check you out to make sure you've got the girth to hang with me."

Mario: What the…

"Pst! What's girth?" Link whispered to Kirby. Kirby shrugged.

"I don't really know…but I am SO disappointed that we didn't get a Super Upgrade!"

"All right," Thudley, as was the Pixl's name, continued, floating over to the three teams. "Let's start by checking those faces of yours."

First, he checked Mario's face, getting a little too close for the plumber's liking.

"Well, whatever girth is, I bet our team will be the most," boasted Link.

"Nuh-uh! It'll be our team," Amy corrected.

"I believe it'll be us?" Bowser interrupted. "Considering I've probably got enough girth to swim in!"

Thudley finished his inspection of Mario. "Looks like you're sportin' a beefy 'stache, there. Solid! I give it 60 girth points."

Mario: Only 60?

"Hah hah!" laughed Bowser, mocking his nemesis and pointing. Mario gave him a look as Thudley went to inspect Peach next. He nearly doubled over.

"Look at those big eyes! You make my girthy heart flutter, girl. Those eyes of yours have got some heavy to 'em! You get 70 girth points!"

"Yes!" cheered Amy, jumping up and throwing her hands into the air.

"You're treating this like it's some sort of popularity contest!" exclaimed Sonic.

"It's an ultimate test to prove who is the best," protested Ganondorf.

"Eh, not really…"

Bowser struck a pose as Thudley took a good look at the king's face. "Dude has shaggy eyebrows! That's not even kinda girthy! You get 50 girth points."

"WHAT?"

"Ooh, what NOW?" dissed Amy and Kirby.

Mario: Hah hah!

"BOWSER! Get girthier!" Ganondorf ordered.

"I think you're taking this too far…" Peach said.

Kirby protested with, "But it's fun!"

"All right, I gotta check the girthiness of those clothes of yours!"

Link thrust Mario forward, showing off his latest fashion of a red cap, red shirt, and stunning blue overalls.

"Overalls? ! Man, only the brawniest heroes wear those! That's worth 100 girth points!"

Mario: I know right?

"H-Hey! This tunic is just as manly! I even told Peach the story of how it came to be!" Link protested.

Thudley ignored Link's shouts and floated over Peach, who was sporting a very casual, yet elegant good ol' pink dress.

"A pink dress? ! It takes guts to wear that here. Bam! There's 100 girth points!"

"Aw, we tied…" sighed Amy.

Thudley whirled around to Bowser who…really wasn't wearing anything…

"What's more girthy than a giant spiky shell? ! That's worth 100 girth points!"

"You're counting that as a piece of clothing?" Ganondorf gawked.

"Just be happy he has it on," muttered Link.

"Heard that!"

"M'kay, is there any other "girth" that needs to be checked?" Peach asked. Thudley nodded eagerly.

"Girth check on the body comin' up. That's where the real heavy comes from."

"All right, this is in the BAG!" chuckled Bowser.

Mario struck a pose, hoping to get some bonus points for presentation. Link and Kirby had their fingers crossed while Sonic was shrugging and shaking his head.

"Woah, ho ho! You might be small, but you pack a punch of girth! Girth is a state of mind! You just got yourself another 10,000 girth points!"

"WOO!" yelled Kirby. "How's THAT!"

"Come on, Peach! You can beat that!" Amy assured. Peach folded her arms.

"I'll…try?"

She turned to Thudley and gave a curtsey, to which Thudley nearly fainted at again.

"Unbelievable! You might be a slender thing, but you got a beefy spirit, girl! I wouldn't mess with a chick like you! You get 1,000,000 girth points!"

"Yay!"

Amy practically glomped Peach, while Peach was simply satisfied with the compliment. Team Mario was totally crushed by how many points they earned, but Team BEG was not worried at all. Thudley came over to them last.

"Look at this guy! Look him up in the dictionary, and he's the definition of girth! A superheavyweight right here!"

"I bet my points are over 9000!" Bowser said, waiting patiently for the announcement. "Or maybe even a million! A trillion! A gazillion! A-"

"Bam... 10,000 girth points!"

"SAY WHAT?" Ganondorf roared. "The 'definition of girth' has less girth than a GIRL?"

"How do you think we feel?" complained Link.

"It is over 9000 though," snickered Amy.

"The sheer grithitude on display here is blowing my mind! There's no getting around it! You've got heavy like I've never seen before! Any fool that gets in your way and you just HAVE to girth him up! Love it! Smash and squish those lightweights! You're goin' places with girth like that, and I want to come along for the ride."

He spun around Bowser (which surprised a few people) until Bowser held him up over his head.

"With all our girths combined, nobody can stop us! But you gotta get out of this room first. Put my heavyweight power to work!"

Sonic, who was still sitting on the yellow pole, quickly swam up and out of the way.

"Hey Bowser, this might sound weird, but can you give that a squash? With Thudley's power, you can do a Ground Pound, and I think we can pound THAT into the ground."

Bowser glanced at Thudley, then shrugged and summoned his power. Jumping over the pole, then doing a flip and slamming into it, the pole was pounded into the ground like Sonic predicted, and it opened the door.

"Yeah!" "All right!" "Woo!"

"And now we know what to do with those yellow poles in the other area!" Kirby exclaimed. "But perhaps there is a certain way to slam them…"

"Either way…" Link began, a creepy tone in his voice. "…we will need to backtrack."

Mario could've sworn lightning struck in the background.

**Area with Tentacles and Whirlpools-**

Instead of swimming to the left to return back to the place with the six yellow poles, Mario continued to venture to the right, like everyone wanted to in the first place. On the other side, after pulling Sonic through another series of tentacles and whirlpools, they found another cavern-like area, this one with a picture printed on the wall.

Oh yeah, and Eggman too.

"Hey, we found him!" Bowser exclaimed, obviously astonished. "Personally I thought he was taken by one of those tentacles."

Eggman, who had been intently studying the picture on the wall, turned to see Bowser and Ganondorf, who were currently the only ones out of the water.

"About time you guys at least bothered to come looking for me," he grunted, still not taking his eyes of the wall. "Did you expand the fort as planned?"

The duo sweat dropped an exchanged glances.

"Uh…" "Well you see…"

Eggman finally turned away from the wall, taking note of Bowser and Ganondorf's sheepishly grinning faces.

"What did you screw up? I did not clear away that land with my machine, have my machine malfunction, and fall into the ocean just to learn that we have somehow FAILED!"

Bowser scratched the back of his head. "You see, you could say that the fort had a little…_remodeling…"_

**"**Remodeling?"

"Kirby blew it up," Ganondorf said flatly. "He turned into a Bullet Bill and plowed straight into the weakest point in the fort- you know, the spot where Bowser spray painted an obvious red X?"

"I wanted to remember where it was!" defended Bowser, punching Ganondorf afterwards. "Why do you have to be so blunt? It's annoying!"

"The fort is GONE?" Eggman guffawed. Ganondorf nodded.

"That's what I said. And that's not all-"

"Hey! What's taking you guys so long?" Sonic asked, climbing up to join them. "We just told you to see what was up there- ooooooh, we found Eggman."

_"_Sonic!" Eggman barked, not missing a beat as soon as his arch enemy showed his face. The next thing Sonic knew, there was a laser gun pressed to his forehead. Sonic felt his pupils shrink.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, take it easy man! I've already been traumatized enough today and I'm going to have nightmares as it is with _this _near death experience!"

"Erm, yeah, you've gotta back off…" Ganondorf started awkwardly. "Even if he is a water-wuss."

"HEY!"

Eggman gave Ganondorf a long, long, look.

"How **long** have I been gone?"

"Much too long," Bowser huffed. "We have to explain things now!"

"Why is he with you?" Eggman said murderously. Sonic slightly winced.

Ganondorf shrugged. "He's not the only one."

As if on cue, Mario, Link, Kirby, Peach, and Amy emerged out of the water, showing the same amount of shock upon seeing Eggman.

"Whoa, it's Eggman!" "He was here after all!" "Whaddya know?"

"How did…they all get here?" Eggman gaped, finally removing the gun from Sonic, who quickly took cover next to his friends.

"We all came from the Void one way or another, except for Mario," Amy explained. Kirby coughed. "Erm…and Kirby too."

"And that Void sucking up the worlds is the only reason why we are tagging along with them," added Bowser.

"And the fact I want to get revenge on those teleporters for even thinking about double-crossing me!" snarled Ganondorf as he clenched his fist. Eggman raised an eyebrow.

"You were double-crossed as well? You didn't tell me that."

"Yeah, they promised me all-world domination if I got married to Zelda."

"They promised me the same thing if I married Sonic and Amy!"

"I didn't get promised anything, but hey, I'm married to Peach!" Bowser chirped delightedly, receiving a glare from said princess.

"So you're basically on a quest to stop those fools from whatever they're doing?" Eggman asked, trying to make sure he had things straight.

"There's a whole slew of things that you don't know," Link stated. "But that's the main core of it. We're stopping the freaks in the black hole in the sky."

"By collecting Pure Hearts!" Kirby added, jumping onto Mario's head. "You've got plans to join in?"

"You may as well- we're roped into this now," Ganondorf stated. "At least you've got your fellow villains to be miserable with!"

"I'm miserable with you even if we weren't helping heroes!" Eggman uttered, folding his arms. Bowser elbowed Kirby and pointed at Eggman.

"See? I told you it's worse with him!"

"But I suppose I really don't have a choice…"

Link suddenly struck a dramatic pose as if something important happened. "Eggman has joined the team! With his totally state-of-the-art laser gun, Eggman will annihilate anything that displeases him. Also, when Team BEG takes control, his remote control transforms into a mad battle machine! And speaking of, his battle ability is actually being very decent at pulling off action commands."

"…what the heck was that?"

"Link gave you an intro. He does that for everyone, apparently."

"Except me!" Peach pointed out. Link folded his arms.

"Okay, listen, Mario and I didn't get one either, capeesh?"

"That's because you joined Mario, and it would be very weird of you gave one to yourself."

"Well, he's mostly right- except my mech is heavily damaged from the malfunction and the water. I won't be able to truly fix it, or use it, until we get back on dry land, I'm afraid," Eggman informed them. "You'll have to make due without my advanced technology."

"Oh please- it's so advanced, even a hedgehog can crush it!" scoffed Sonic.

"Watch it, you pest…"

"Haven't you already done enough to him?" growled Amy, jumping defensively in front of her hero.

"Whoa, chill! No need to get all tense and start snapping at each other's necks!" Kirby yelped.

"Yes…what we should be focusing on is this picture on the wall!" Eggman exclaimed, motioning to it. It looked like an underwater mural, with long yellow lines and short yellow lines painted on what was most likely the ocean floor. "This obviously means something, but I don't know what. I found it after getting myself lost."

"How did you manage to get to the pipe and…never mind," Sonic sighed. "But what that picture looks like is-"

"-the position the six yellow poles have to be in!" Kirby gaped. "By Joe, I've got it! Up, down, down, up, down, up! From left to right!"

Eggman just gaped. "…how did I miss that? But, I didn't see any six yellows poles…"

"How did you end up here anyway Eggman?" Peach asked.

"Like I said, my machine malfunctioned for reasons I am unaware, and I ended up here since I practically jet skied over the ocean…"

"Does it matter how he got here?" Bowser asked. "We've got what we need, now let's get out of here!"

"I have to agree, I think the water is doing _terrible _things to my complexion-"

"Oh, can it, Sonic."

**Place With the Six Yellow Posts-**

After another embarrassing escapade in the "pipe box", the group, now with Eggman, had found their way back to the yellow posts. Kirby and Bowser were on the job.

"All right! Just on the second and third ones, Bowser!" Kirby ordered, pointing at them for emphasis.

"How does he plan to do that?" Eggman inquired.

"With sheer girth, baby!" Bowser boomed back, swimming upwards, doing a flip, then slamming into the second pole. Just like in the room with Thudley, the pole sank into the ground. Bowser then did the third one, and Kirby motioned for the one in the middle of the other set of three. Bowser wasted no time in getting over there (though he was remarkably slow) and did the same to that pole. The poles now matched the picture on the wall.

"Goooo Thudley!" cheered Thoreau.

"You sure got some thrills, yesiree!" Slim threw in.

"I've just got the girth!" Thudley responded.

"I'm the one that used him," pouted Bowser. Eggman grabbed Thudley and looked him over.

"What is this thing, anyway?"

"It's a floaty thing-"

"It's a Pixl," Link stated, glaring at Ganondorf. "If our other Pixl, Tippi, was here, she'd tell you more about them."

"She was stolen by a nerd," Amy explained.

"Psh, we all know that being a nerd isn't threatening," chuckled Ganondorf, getting hit by Eggman afterwards.

"Hey look! A door! No way!" Link gasped, directing attention toward the door that had appeared in the middle of the two sets of posts. "Maybe we should enter!"

"There was no need for sarcasm."

"Technically that was me saying what we needed to do in an anti-obvious manner."

"…what?"

Mario ignored any oncoming debates and just walked through the door.

. . .

"Oh my gosh, what is that."

Kirby's eyes gawked at what could only be described as a…bird-fish. And a big one. It had a beak-like thing with blunt teeth, a pink body, and blue fin/wings, and a green tail. It was quite the creature…and also coming after them.

"I've got it," Eggman said casually, taking careful aim with his laser and turning the foe into nothing. "There's more of them up ahead as well."

"Would you mind if the greatest team you've ever seen in your life takes control?" Bowser required to know with a smirk. Everyone that wasn't a member of Team BEG rolled their eyes.

"We haven't really got a chance to do any fighting though…" moaned Kirby.

"Yes, but your attacks and weaker, and the girls don't have the numbers," Ganondorf pointed out, then created a wall of power like previously. "I believe we'll be taking care of this personally."

"Gra ha ha ha ha! Back in business, baby!" Bowser roared, unleashing a ton of fire on an oncoming fish. The creature literally had no chance of survival after succumbing to two rounds of Bowser's flames. Ganondorf continued to summon his firewalls, sending then toward any enemies that got it their way. If he happened to miss one, he'd charge up a ball of purple power and chuck it in their direction. Eggman struggled to swim and keep aim with his laser, but he still managed to hit two of the crazy fish right between the eyes.

"Ow! They keep biting me!" growled Bowser, swatting at a fish that had gotten too close.

"You know, these things are called "Bittacudas"," Eggman informed as he zapped another one.

"That would explain why I keep getting nibbled!" Bowser howled, burning the nearest one.

"Here come more…" Ganondorf trailed, spying a whole new pack of fish and getting ready to whip out a wall of fire. However, something beat him to it.

"BLOOP!"

And all the fishes quickly swam away without another thought. The trio blinked and exchanged glances.

"Eh…that's not a good sign…"

"BLUH-BLOOP! (WHAT'S GOING ON?)"

The entire ocean began to shake rapidly as gigantic tentacles, one by one, arose from the sea floor. Team BEG started flipping out, faces totally shocked and arms flailing about.

What did those massive tentacles belong to? A humongous Blooper.

"Oh my goodness…" Peach gawked, jaw dropped along with the others.

"That thing is HUGE!"

"Bloobloobloobloop! (Hey, land freaks! How'd you like a tentacle sandwich? !)"

It brought up a blue tentacle, striking the three baddies dead on.

"ARGH!" "Ouch!" GWARGH!"

Meanwhile, the others were trying to help, but the Blooper had raised two of its strongest tentacles (which were colored yellow) to prevent any escape and/or entrances. It was currently Team BEG vs. a Blooper.

"Well this stinks. We can't even help!" complained Kirby.

"It doesn't sound like they're doing too hot either," Sonic groaned.

"Stupid Blooper!" Amy grumbled, whacking at the tentacle. "Why isn't it in pain or anything?"

"Maybe there's a weak point somewhere?" Peach suggested.

"Who knows? We can't even see the fight!" Link pouted.

Mario was pretty confident that the villains would figure it out nevertheless.

Back with said villains, still trying to gather themselves together after the unexpected tentacle strike, Eggman deduced that they needed a battle strategy.

"Here's my strategy-GRAH!"

Bowser directed his flames at another blue tentacle, but to his surprise, it did no damage.

"Huh-WHAT?"

"Like I said, we need a strategy," Eggman repeated. "Obviously there must be some sort of weak point."

"And what is that? Usually a Blooper's tentacles ARE its weak point, but this one's so huge and mutated not even my awesome flames can do anything about it!"

"The red flipper!" Kirby suddenly cried, loud enough for Ganondorf to hear and for his friends to recall what Barry said.

"What did you say?" Ganondorf questioned, floating closer to the sound.

"Back in the Bitlands Barry told us that the Blooper's weakness is its red flipper!" Kirby remembered. "Didja see it yet?"

"No, they've all been blue."

"Then look for the red one and show no mercy!" Amy threw in.

Ganondorf took in the new info and turned back to Bowser and Eggman, who were dodging another tentacle while debating over a plan. Sudden, the red flipper Kirby had spoke of appeared, but neither of them went for it. Deciding to see if what Kirby said was true, Ganondorf threw a sphere of his dark magic at the tentacle, and what did you know? The Blooper recoiled in pain.

"BLUH-BLOOP! (No! Not there! Anywhere but there!)"

"Hey, look. I found the weak point," Ganondorf announced dully.

"W-Well, good for you," Eggman huffed back.

"So do we wait for that stupid red tentacle to come back?" Bowser questioned, swimming away from a blue one then burning it nevertheless.

"I would assume so."

"I get it the second time then!" Bowser called as Eggman zapped another blue tentacle in the background.

"HEY! How're ya holdin' up?" Sonic's voice called out.

"We hit it once," Ganondorf replied, kicking another blue tentacle. "I'm guessing we've still got two more shots!"

"Make that one more shot," smirked Ganondorf as he blasted the returning sore red tentacle with a terrifying missile. Bowser threw a fit.

"I said I was going to get the next one!"

"It wasn't my fault you didn't see it!"

"I thought it would pop up on the other side!"

"Well you've still got one more chance, then," Link shrugged.

"You can finish it off Bowser!" Peach cheered.

Mario would bet the Gold Bar and then some that Bowser was now going on a rampage.

"STEP ASIDE! I'm finishing this thing off!"

Too bad Mario DIDN'T bet.

Ganondorf and Eggman were simply trying to beat down all the blue tentacles attacking them, but Bowser would always shove them out of the way and blast fire. At long last, the Blooper meekly lifted up its red tentacle- Bowser was all over it.

"Time to Bowserize you!" he blared, burning the flipper to a crisp. Ganondorf shook his head while Eggman brought his palm to his face.

"I hope that isn't his new catchphrase or something…"

"That's the second he's said that already, I believe."

"BLUH-BLOOP!" the Blooper wailed one last time before submerged itself to the deeper parts of the Tile Pool. Bowser, meanwhile, was throwing his own little celebration.

"Heck yeah! I took down a massive Blooper!"

"Well what do you know? Bad guys can be useful after all!" Amy chuckled, the rest of the group joined up with the villains.

"We might be evil, but at least we can get the job done," Ganondorf protested, folding his arms. "You're welcome."

"Hey, we would have took it down as well if you weren't so busy "taking control"!" Sonic exclaimed.

"Yeah, when do we get to pick a fight with something?" asked Kirby.

Mario: Don't ask for a battle!

"Why not? They usually turn out so epic!"

Mario knew better than to go around wanting to take on any foe, but he still couldn't argue with Kirby on the fact that fights usually turned out pretty darn epic. As Bowser tried to pull some moves on Peach (who Mario knew would smack him with her umbrella if it was too much for her liking), he pointed out the pipe n the far side of the ocean. Sonic nearly had a heart attack.

"Oh my Chaos, does that lead to _LAND! ?"_

He entered that pipe while moving at the speed of a torpedo. Hoping it was also land as well (though not as much to the extent of Sonic) the other eight heroes followed after.

. . .

Upon exiting the pipe, Sonic was kissing the ground.

"YES! And better yet, there's the Star Block! Goodbye, watery torture! It'll probably take me forever to get dry again!"

"Now you're over reacting," Link groaned, rolling his eyes.

"Look on the bright side- at least he won't complain about water for awhile!" Dashell added cheerfully.

"H-Hey!"

"We're halfway to Tippi…" Peach proclaimed, the seriousness in the atmosphere going up a little.

"You're right! We're that much closer to getting her back!" Amy nodded.

"…I'm totally confused, but I get the feeling that this whole process has been explained over three times, so I'll just wait out the answers since they'll probably come again, in time," Eggman admitted. There was an unsure silence before Bowser shrugged, said "M'kay", and Mario hit the Star Block, ready to continue on. Apparently with no further questions.

. . .

Somehow, the heroes had breached the Big Blooper and crossed the Tile Pool. But before they could dry, they saw the imposing silhouette of Fort Francis.

"It sure is getting dark," Peach said in a quiet voice.

But when they looked up, they realized they were in the shadow of a huge tree. Mario, knowing in his gut that this was the right way, set out toward the great tree…

…while the rest of Team Mario cried out in bloody murder.

* * *

**And there's Chapter 3-2! Next time...the gangs climbs the biggest tree _evur! _(a pain of a level to go through...but it was fun to write about)**

**(And Happy New Year's as well! ^^)**


	20. Up, Up, and a Tree

Super Paper Mario X

Chapter 19: Up, Up, and a Tree

"All right, listen up. We are face to face with this whomping tree, and past experience shows that we do _not_ do very well with big trees- or extensive climbing. And then there's also those "falling down moments", but that's beside the point. It is going to take teamwork to climb this thing, because apparently the only way to go is up." Kirby announced, explaining the game plan as they all waited for Eggman to finish fixing up his battle mech for when he needed it.

"Oh, come on! You say that like you've encountered big trees before," Bowser scoffed.

"Hey, there was Raphael's Tree! Oh boy, that was a doozy…" groaned Kirby.

"Raphael's Tree wasn't that bad," Sonic shrugged. "If I wasn't the fastest thing alive, I'd say Hooktail Castle was worse than that!"

"Hooktail Castle isn't a tree, is it?" Bowser shot back.

"Ahem? The Great Boggly Tree?" coughed Ganondorf.

"Oh yeah, we've been there too…"

"It was quite huge, I must admit," Eggman added, still putting the finishing touches on his repairs.

"Kirby didn't even go there!" Link protested. "And that was where I…"

"Where you what? If it's something related to your wedding you may as well spit it out since we all know about it now," Sonic murmured darkly.

"What makes you think it's related to THAT?"

"Just by the way you trailed off."

Link gave Sonic a look, then shrugged nonchalantly. "Nothing special, really. Just where I proposed to Zelda."

_"AAAWWWWW!"_ squealed Amy and Peach, glomping him almost instantly after.

"It must have been **so** romantic!" Amy gushed. Link lightly blushed and scratched the back of his head.

"Well, it was simple, I'll admit that…I figured I should do it in a place that she'd enjoy. When I found out Boggly Woods was the beautiful place she had seen in her dreams…well, it was perfect. I couldn't turn it down." he then gave a hard stare at Ganondorf, who in turn put on an innocent look and held up his hands.

"I was told that I was being used for a ritual and receiving all-world domination in return, and I wasn't informed of all that marriage gunk until the last minute."

"Well I'm still upset," Link said, frowning. "You can't blame me for that. And don't any of you start up on all the theories on how this is somehow all my fault."

"What theo-" Eggman started to ask, until everyone gave him a look that told him to keep quiet.

"It still would have been nice to be there…" Peach muttered under her breath.

"Ain't that the truth," grunted Sonic.

"Aw, stop it guys! You're probably making poor Link feel even worse!" Kirby exclaimed, glancing at the friend in question.

"Uh, yeah! My marriage was ruined, my fiancé apparently jumped off the side of a castle in a giant Void and is nowhere to be found, my friends are making me feel even guiltier for not even telling them, and I could place a bet on the fact life hates me and most likely win."

"Wow…we tend to bicker, but that's nothing compared to their issues," Bowser said while simply blinking.

"Well I don't want to climb this tree with all these negative feelings," Amy uttered. "If you let this all weigh you down we'll never get to the top."

"I'd say to get over it all, but I have a pretty good feeling I'll be murdered in over a hundred ways…" confessed Ganondorf.

"However, I must admit Ganondorf and Amy are right," Peach agreed, hands folded across her chest. "We're not going to get anywhere if we keep acting like this and regurgitating situations that have happened and we can't change."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to bring up the whole mess again," Link sighed.

"…I really AM missing a whole chunk of info, aren't I?" Eggman questioned absent-mindedly.

"We don't really know the entire back-story either," added Bowser and Ganondorf.

"I see…well, in other words, I fixed my machine! We can get going."

"It's fine Link; we at least understand why," Peach continued with an assuring smile. "Now let's get to work on climbing this tree."

"Poyo!" Kirby randomly cheered, though it did show he was resilient in getting back to his cheery self. Mario was certainly glad to see a few people not letting anything get to them, but it was still obvious that the situations were still bugging Link, and even Sonic as well.

"Personally, I think the key to climbing the tree is to swap which team has control," Eggman began to explain. "Team Z.A.P. should be in control a majority of the time, due to being on the "lightweight" side and for their agility. Plus they'll be able to easily navigate around, and their ability to float should come in handy. Then if something needs cleared out- bam, we swap to us! If we need to teleport into 3-D, Team Mario can take control. Good plan?"

"Well, it's a plan," decided Kirby. "Any objections?"

"Eh, not really." "Nope." "Let's go for it." "I'm down with that." "That is still a huge tree. My gosh."

"Looks like we're taking control then, Peach!" Amy smiled.

"Good luck…" Sonic sighed.

"We're all going to need it," Link pointed out, Mario nodding in agreement.

Peach held out her umbrella and swung it over her shoulder. "Well, let's get to it, shall we?"

She and Amy took control, begin the strenuous task of climbing the tree. All in all, Mario summarized to himself while taking a good look at the exterior of the tree, it seemed like the tree was nothing but one large trunk- the only thing that made it climbable was all the platforms loitering around it. Peach and Amy had already started the feat with ease- one hop to a platform after another, jumping on a moving one, going to the other side, and continuing on.

"I really hope we don't fall," gulped Amy as Peach whacked a Parakoopa flying around out of the air.

"Why is that, dear?"

"If we fall, we'd have to start all over- just think if we were near the top, then Link tripped or something and then we all fell-"

"Stop thinking like Ganondorf," Peach replied, gliding over to a green leafy platform with a ? block on it.

"I heard my name, which means it probably wasn't used in a positive way!" Link suddenly called out of the blue. Peach hit the block, and she nearly froze when she saw what came out of it. Amy didn't have a clue about what it was, so she thought it was some sort of battle item and grabbed the Slow Flower.

"Amy! Why did you grrrraaaab thaaaaat…"

The influence of the Slow Flower caused Peach and Amy to lose control, and Teams Mario and BEG to pop up next to them.

"Whoooaaaa whaaaat's goooooing oooooon?" Kirby asked. He also decided to use this time to get higher up in the tree, so he inflated himself and slowly started heading upwards.

"Loooks like I'm toooo sloooow…" stated Sonic, following Kirby. "…whiiiich meeeeans the baaaaad guuuys areeee eveeeeen sloooweeeeerr…"

"Eveeeeeryoooone stoooop taaaalking…" ordered Amy. "It's reaaaaaaally weeeeird…."

"Buuuuut we sooouuund sooort of sweeeet!" exclaimed Bowser as he attempted a jump, though it was so slow it looked like he was frozen in midair. Mario and Peach meanwhile aimed their attacks at a Tileoid B and a Poison Cherbil (which Eggman had discovered was the name for the green bubble-blowing enemy since they lacked the knowledgeable Tippi).

"Hey, what's this?" wondered Kirby after reaching a higher area before the rest of the group, seeing a red Fast Flower pop out of another ? Block. Mario and Link frantically waved their hands and shouted for him to not touch it, especially since the slow effects themselves had slowed up, but it was beyond too late.

"Awsweetwe'renotslowanymoreandI'mfasterthanever!" Sonic blared, now bounding up the tree at an incredible rate. Before anyone else could move (even at their highly increased rate), Sonic had flipped into 3-D, hit two dimension-swapping blocks, and gave the gang something new to climb up.

"Hmph. Itakeitwe'retotallygoingtoscrapmy awesome plan…" grunted Eggman, time beginning to slow down again and return to normal.

"It's hard to swap who has control while climbing a tree, I must say…" Ganondorf murmured.

"Well we'll have to anyway…" trailed Peach, jumping onto the platform Sonic located, then bounding onto a leafy green one. Everyone else was quick to follow, but after that, there was no way to get upwards without the assistance of Peach and Amy's gliding abilities. The girls regained control, Peach lifting her parasol while Amy raised her hammer, and together they floated over to a new part of the tree. They jumped up to a platform just above their heads, then glided back over to the previously unreachable platform back on the other side.

"All right!" Amy cried, slapping Peach a high five. "Let's keep going!"

"Okay!"

They continued onward, Peach jumping on a Koopa with Amy kicking its shell away afterward. When they got as far as they could go, they came to a yellow post.

"Looks like it's Bowser's turn…" Peach mused, swapping control with Team BEG.

"Sweet, our turn!" Bowser exclaimed. "Eh…what're we doing?"

"I think you need to use Thudley," sighed Eggman as Ganondorf face palmed. Bowser looked thoughtful for a few moments before nodding in agreement and summoning his Pixl's power. With a devastating flip and a pound, Bowser slammed onto the yellow pole, causing a piece of bark to gall off the tree and reveal a yellow platform.

"And you thought your taking control plan was going to fail," jeered Ganondorf to Eggman. Eggman folded his arms.

"Well with that whole "time flower" thing, it seemed like we were all going to go at the same time!" he defended.

"Yo guys, quick bickering for a few moments and follow me!" Bowser ordered, jumping carefully off the yellow platform and onto a new branch. However, that was as far as they could go, as there was a gap too far for them to jump and too far for Peach and Amy to glide to.

"Our turn!" cried Kirby, knocking Bowser out of control.

"Hey! You could at least tell us before whipping away our control!" Bowser snapped.

"Sorry- we were anxious," shrugged Sonic. "You know how impatient_ I_ can get…"

Team Mario threw up their hands and transported into the 3rd dimension. Mario discovered that here was a brick path leading to the next platform, which was apparently hidden in 2-D. He motioned for the rest of his team to cross, and once they were safe on the other side, swapped back to 2-D. Link glanced around the side of the tree and took note of a huge yellow pipe (why was everything yellow?) jetting out of the side.

"That's peculiar…and sweet! I wonder where the other end is!"

"Maybe we'll find out if we go inside!" suggested Kirby.

"Can we even get inside the tree?" questioned Sonic.

Mario: it's not impossible.

"Nothing's impossible when it comes to us!" Kirby replied, floating up to higher heights. As Sonic bounded after Kirby, Mario and Link took their time collecting a Shroom and taking out a Tileoid G and a Tileoid B. They caught up with Sonic and Kirby moments later, since they were caught up with fighting Poison Cherbils, more Tileoids, and a Parakoopa. Sonic performed a stylish Action Chain on the Parakoopa, making it enter its shell and land in front of Kirby. Kirby then scooped up the shell, tossed it into the air, then gave it a hearty smack with his hammer.

"Hah!"

The red shell went flying into the Poison Cherbil, conking it in the head and instantly knocking it out of the air, giving Link perfect access to hack at it with his sword. Meanwhile, Kirby had floated up to the top of the pipe and entered it. The rest of the gang waiting impatiently until he angrily returned.

"What a rip-off! All that was there was a ton of coins!" he complained. "You'd think there'd be a treasure of something…"

"Just let go, Kirby…you never know when you may need a bunch of coins in the future," shrugged Sonic.

"So true…" groaned Link. The two exchanged a brief glance with raised eyebrows, before turning away just as quickly. Mario, who was continuing the trek up the tree, just kept his focus on getting to the top. Once he were as high as he could go, Mario removed control.

"Hey…look at this door!" Amy exclaimed, placing her hand on the red-rainbow door that was covered in the Dotwood Tree's bark. "It must've been so dormant for so long that the tree started to, well, grow over it, in a sense."

"How can we get the door open though- it obviously won't open due TO the bark," Link stated.

Bowser was snickering in the background. "Gra ha ha ha ha! This'll be a cinch! Just step out of the way!"

"Are you going to blow the door up?" gaped Kirby, getting a glimpse of Eggman jumping into his mech again and taking aim at the door.

"Who needs to blow it up when we can just as easily burn it down?" cackled Ganondorf, hands sparking with flames.

Eggman put on a disappointed look. "Oh…I thought we really were going to blow it up."

"Just get the door open," huffed Peach and Sonic.

"Well, no need to be pushy!" Bowser huffed right back. He sucked in a deep breath, then directly his flames at the door. Ganondorf followed up with his wall of dark magic, and Eggman joined in by shooting a missile. The combined force was enough to remove the bark covering the door, and giving the gang access into the tree.

"What do ya know? We can get inside after all!" Sonic stated.

"But that just means there's more tree to climb," whined Kirby.

Mario opened the door nevertheless, and the whole gang piled inside.

. . .

"Tileoid!" shouted Eggman, zapping it to death with another laser. Everyone stared at him awkwardly.

"You're like, the complete opposite of Samus," gaped Sonic. "You go crazy with lasers, and yet your most powerful attack is in the form of missiles. How odd."

"Makes me wonder where Samus is…" pondered Peach to no one in particular, though Mario had heard her. Eggman, meanwhile, simply shrugged.

"What does he mean that your most powerful attack is in the form of missiles?" questioned Ganondorf.

"Oh, with the right tune-up, I can launch a barrage of missiles and projectiles in all directions with one push of a button! Hardly avoidable, I will add."

"I can avoid them," Sonic said while grinning cheekily, Eggman glaring back in response.

"I'm going on ahead- who wants to come?" asked Amy, who was jumping onto an elevation platform with Mario. "Of course, you can continue to stand around here and discuss attacks…"

As Link, Sonic, Kirby, Peach, Eggman, Bowser, and Ganondorf stopped the current conversation to catch up, Mario saw that there was no way to go, except for into a pipe. Motioning to Amy, they both entered it to see what was inside.

However, it was a transporting pipe, because it brought them to the top part of the tree, with only a light blue switch sitting on the far end.

"It's another dead end, Mario," Amy pointed out. "you'd think there'd be another way out of the tree, if there was one way in…"

Mario: We can keep looking around!

"Oh, I know. For all we know we probably just need to hit a switch and it'll appear!"

Speaking of switches, Mario finally caught sight of a light blue one, and gave it a whack. Amy was hoping that a door would appear, but instead-

"OW! I was just hit in the head with this suddenly appearing platform!" Sonic's voice cried out. Back with the rest of the group, two red platforms had emerged into existence, making getting higher up in the tree possible. Sonic was lying on the ground rubbing his head while everyone else headed on up.

"Eek! A Crazee Dayzee!" yelped Link, flinching instantly. Peach and the baddies started to snicker.

"You're afraid of a flower?" sneered Eggman.

"Hey! They can prove to be very lethal!" protested Kirby. "They have a soothing lullaby…OF DEATH!"

"I don't see what's so-" Peach began, only to catch sight of Bower and Ganondorf getting hit with a music note and being put to sleep. The Dayzee giggled- every moment they were asleep, the more damage that would be done to them! Mario and Amy returned through the pipe and climbed up the platforms, Sonic sprung up, curled into a ball, and spin dashed the Dayzee, while Peach, Link, Kirby, and Eggman made desperate attempts to wake up Bowser and Ganondorf.

"Such evil…" Sonic shivered, disposing of the crazy flower once and for all. "Just be lucky that it wasn't an Amazy Dayzee!"

"Ooh, they have a very high killing potential!" remarked Kirby, who was trying to smack Ganondorf awake.

"I find it upsetting that a flower poses more of a threat than we do," grunted Eggman.

Link was poking at Bowser like there was no tomorrow, but the king of koopas would not budge from his lethal slumber. "Why won't they wake up?"

"You're not doing it right," Peach chimed in, gently pushing Link out of the way and grabbing Bowser's shoulders.

"What makes you think you can-"

"WAKE UP! WAKE UP!"

Peach violently shook Bowser seven times, which turned out to be the trick to wear off the Dayzee's power. Kirby gasped in awe, then started shaking Ganondorf too.

Mario: So much for the 'gentle touch'…

"How did you know that?" Amy asked as she jumped next to Peach.

"I know a thing or two…the cure for Dayzee-induced anti-insomnia is to simply shake the person awake!"

"Well jeez, where was that info when we needed it?" grumbled Sonic.

Among the commotion, Mario slunk to the back of the pack and found a light red switch- upon activating it, it turned into the light blue color like the previous switch, and the red platforms disappeared…but were replaced by blue ones in a different location. The nearest blue platform lead to another elevating yellow one.

"Uh, guys? We can continue on…" Link trailed, pointing at the blue platform Mario and Amy wasted no time in climbing. Bowser and Ganondorf were still having some sleep aftermath, so they weren't too quick to jump back to their feet, but Sonic, Kirby, Peach, and Eggman were.

"I hope they get it back together soon!" exclaimed Peach, spying Bowser suddenly fall over. Whether it was from lingering sleep, or Peach's violent shaking, no one would ever know. While waiting for the next platform to come back around, Eggman boredly zapped a Tileoid G.

"They are so annoying…I wonder why they crawl up and down the tree like that though."

He fired at another one as he jumped to the next platform (when they all could finally reach it), then Sonic, in an impatient hurry, leapt to the next stable one…only to be hit by a music note.

"Darn Dayzee…" he said woozily, slumping forward and falling asleep. The Dayzee giggled crazily, until Peach and Amy arrived on the scene. It blinked, then sang its dangerous song once again. Peach instantly reflected the attack while Amy jumped over her and brought her hammer down on the Dayzee. It barely stood a chance.

"That's what you get for knocking out Sonic!" Amy snapped, Peach pulled out of her umbrella and going to wake up said hedgehog. Everyone else was peering over the edge, waiting until it was safe. "You can come up here now, you know."

"Hey! I'm in the middle of something!" Bowser called back. Everyone who had recently climbed up, now peered down over the edge to see where Bowser was. He was back on the circling platform, looking quite proud of himself for spotting something the others didn't. He jumped toward the right, performed a Ground Pound with the help of Thudley, and pounded a yellow post into the ground. "You guys should all bow before me, cuz I actually helped!"

"I told you that we would need you," Peach stated with a smile.

"Still not entirely happy about them tagging along though…" threw in Link.

Bowser continued his mini-adventure by climbing down the ladder that had just appeared, taking him to yet another place everyone else seemed to have missed. When he reached the bottom, Bowser found the next switch and jumped on it. The blue platforms disappeared, and the red ones returned, allowing the group to continue once more.

"You're welcome!" Bowser announced arrogantly when he returned. They all rolled their eyes except Peach, who seemed thrilled Bowser was being a help after all. Mario, meanwhile, simply jumped on the red platform.

"Careful Mario- there's another Dayzee up there…" Link warned.

"I've got it!" Kirby cried, floating up with his Final Cutter in his hands. With a quick flip, Kirby held the weapon over his head and then, in a fashion similar to Amy, brought it down onto the Dayzee.

"YAH-EE!"

Kirby's Cutter wasn't strong enough to fully defeat it, so it decided to fight back by preparing to put Kirby the sleep. The pink puff was faster, swapping from his cutter to his hammer at an incredible pace and smacking the Dayzee right in the face- and sending it flying into the side of the tree.

"I love this thing…" Kirby sighed, twirling the hammer around.

"Hammers are the best," agreed Amy. They grinned and exchanged a high-five as Eggman took out a Tileoid B set to hit Mario, Link, Peach and Ganondorf, who were currently on the next platform. Kirby grabbed Amy and floated over, while Sonic, Eggman, and Bowser had to wait until the platform came back around again.

"For a tree, this is awfully complicated…" groaned Eggman.

"It's another rigmarole!" Link's voice called down.

"And there's another dead end…" Peach groaned.

"Well wait until we are all up there before deciding anything!" Sonic ordered as he landed in front of her. "So what's the problem this time?"

"All that's here is a block…" Amy pointed out, kicking said block for emphasis. Mario looked it over, pondering the possibilities, then took control and flipped into 3-D.

"You know, maybe we should give some kind of warning before blipping between dimensions…" mused Kirby.

"Yeah, it's even taking us by surprise!" Sonic added.

Mario gave a reply in the form of a sheepish grin, then motioned for his team to head into the conveniently hidden pipe that was, as always, only reachable in 3D. The room they entered contained spikes that retracted into the floor, then jetted back out again. Easy to get by, if they had Lady Bow or Vivian like back in the day, but alas, they did not.

Even though Mario could have gotten by with Slim's power, Kirby made everything tons easier by floating over the spike, hitting the switch the swap the platforms, then float back.

"…were we all really necessary to be here just for that?" Link questioned.

Sonic shrugged. "Moral support, maybe? GO KIRBY!"

Kirby returned and gave a bow. "Not a problem…especially for me!"

Mario was quick to get back to the girls and the villains.

. . .

"I still don't understand how you ended up kidnapping Zelda and Amy as well," finished Eggman, responding to Bowser and Peach's story about the group's first adventure.

"We were at the party as well," Amy explained. "When the castle was lifted up into the sky, Zelda and I were one of the people who weren't able to escape."

"So Bowser's cronies found them and locked them in the room with me," Peach added. "We had a rocky start- Zelda was incredibly bossy and a bit snobby, Amy was always frightened at every little thing, I was clueless and didn't know how to defend myself, and we almost always got into a spat over little things…but because of them, I feel that I've changed a lot…"

"It's true," agreed Amy. "I think we all have…"

"How heartwarming," Ganondorf responded sarcastically, ruining the moment. "How we met was that we were planning to use Bowser to navigate the Mushroom Kingdom in search of the Crystal Stars, since Eggman and I figured he'd be useful in that category-"

"But we screwed up nearly every time," Eggman finished.

Peach turned to Bowser. "And you're okay with them using you like a puppet?"

Bowser scratched the back of his head. "Erm, I didn't really know about it until the very last second…but meh, what can I say? Being evil is a lot more fun when someone is rampaging beside you. It increases the destruction!"

"Which is evil talk for saying that you really like them," Amy intervened, making Team BEG growl in disgust.

"We hate each other with a fiery passion!" Ganondorf protested. "The only thing that unites us is our hatred of the rest of you."

"And that gives you enough motivation to work together?"

"Apparently so…" Eggman trailed off. Peach gave the trio a sideways glance, but then broke out into a grin upon Team Mario's prompt return.

"The platform's been there for a little bit- we'd figured you would have gone up it already!" Sonic exclaimed.

"We were telling stories about how we met!" Amy informed. "I guess we didn't notice the platform suddenly appear."

"The way we met had to be rigged or something…" Link sighed while shaking his head, stepping onto the blue platform only to be conked in the head with a music note. "Argh! The sleepiness! Noooooo…"

Mario grabbed Link and started to shake him, looked up and spotting the Dayzee that hit him. It was in a spot where if you tried to go in to attack, it would be able to hit you first no matter what, and it was nearly impossible to hit it from far range…or was it?

"You want to know something I've wondered?" Sonic asked, breaking Mario's train of thought. "I wonder how fast I can go at my top speed, with a Fast Flower activated and while using Dashell-"

"You'd go way too fast to comprehend," Eggman put simply. Sonic just gave a pout. Once Mario had reawakened Link, he walked over to Eggman, tugged on his sleeve, and pointed to the Dayzee. "What do you want? Eh? Blast the Dayzee?"

Mario nodded eagerly. Eggman smirked under his massive mustache.

"Well, why didn't you say so earlier? POW!"

Eggman stood on the blue platform and hit the Dayzee with one of his lasers instantaneously afterward. With the way clear, Link returned to making his way up, and inspected the location of the next switch. It was tucked in a nook that was unreachable, due to the fact that if you jumped down, you'd land on a small set of spikes.

"Use me, Ssss-POW!" Boomer suddenly spoke up, flittering next to Link's head. "Pixls aren't effected by mere spikes, you know!"

"Okay, Boomer."

Link dropped Boomer onto the spikes, right in front of the switch. Once Boomer's fuse was lit, Link snapped his fingers, detonating him, and swapped the platforms.

"HEY! We weren't even up there yet!"

"Whoops, sorry…"

Link placed Boomer for detonation again, swapped the platforms, had everyone climb up, detonated the switch again, swapped the platforms again, then had everyone climb to the next part…AGAIN!

"Is everyone all set to go?" Link asked in a false high pitched voice, still standing by the switch.

"Well…there's kind of a problem…" Amy trailed while scratching the back of her head.

"And what is that?"

"There's no switch after that one…" Kirby finished.

"Please- all Link has to do is set his bomb by the switch again, then cross up to here before it detonates and the platforms swap!" Eggman announced. Kirby was in awe.

"Wow! That's like something I would come up with!" he gasped.

"It's actually quite simple to piece together considering the circumstances."

"Cool…you have to teach me your ways!"

"Kirby! Don't mingle like that with the truced enemy!" Sonic exclaimed. "He'll probably brainwash your or something you allow him to give you ideas!"

"Hey, it's not my fault if my intellectual prowess piques the kid's interest," Eggman said bluntly.

"Too bad he only has bursts of intelligence," sighed Link, pulling off the maneuver Eggman suggested.

"At least I _get_ boosts of it," Kirby replied snarkily, Link quickly catching on to the implied insult and glaring back. Mario sighed and continued upwards, locating a yellow pipe. Sonic, Kirby, Peach, and Ganondorf, meanwhile, found a different yellow pipe.

"I wonder where this one leads to," pondered Peach.

Kirby wasted no time in flying up there with Sonic in tow. "Only one way to find out!"

Peach shrugged and flew up after, Ganondorf glancing around before deciding to follow them. Inside were two psycho Chain Chomps, bouncing around erotically and snapping at anything that got too close- which unfortunately at the moment was Sonic and Kirby.

"Whoa whoa!" "GAH!"

Kirby jumped into Sonic's arms, both of them staring wide-eyed at the ravenous orbs trying to gnaw their legs off. Peach came through the pipe (nearly knocking Sonic over), followed by Ganondorf (who did knock them all over). They fell right into the chomping path of the Chomp, but Peach reacted quickly and ducked into her umbrella. Meanwhile Ganondorf conjured up another wall of flames and unleashed it upon the Chomps, but only doing a slight bit of damage. Kirby, who was currently cowering behind Peach as the Chomp attempted to eat them whole, struck up an idea.

"Hey Thoreau- think you can pick up the Chomp?"

"But of course! Am I to be of assistance?"

"Cool!" Kirby grabbed Thoreau then threw him at the weakened Chomp that was now trying to eat Sonic. "Let's test it out!"

Thoreau grabbed the Chomp, bringing it back over to Kirby. Now with the Chomp held high above his head, Kirby gave it a toss toward the other one, making both collide and fall defeated on the spot.

"Okay, that was cool."

A small chest then appeared and Sonic, who was really unable to do anything, quickly kicked it open and pulled out the card inside.

"Heh heh, it's Peach in her wedding dress-"

"Say WHAT?" Peach yelped, swiping the card out of Sonic's grasp so quickly it nearly left him with a paper cut- you know, if he wasn't wearing gloves. "How in the world did I end up on a card that was randomly placed in a tree?"

"The lack of logic!" cheered Kirby.

"Well, now that that escapade is over with, I'd like to get out of this tree before I die, so I'll be taking my leave…" Ganondorf trailed, exiting out of the hidden room. Sonic whistled.

"Wow, Bowser wasn't kidding when he said that the guy was a downer…but he still is right, we'd better get going!"

"I can't believe I'm on a card- in a wedding dress!" Peach continued to gape, still staring at said card while following Sonic and Kirby through the pipe. When they returned, the rest of the group was impatiently waiting for them. Apparently Mario and Link hit the next switch (after partaking in another highly complicated process), and they didn't want to make any moves without everyone's consent.

"Did you at least find something worthy?" Bowser asked.

"Something interesting?" questioned Eggman.

"Something we can use?" "Something we can eat?" "Something that will burn this entire tree down?" "Something that we can use to rule the world!" "We're trying to_ save_ the worlds right now…" "Oh whoops, forgot. It's a force of habit."

"We found me on a card," Peach replied dully.

Everyone: *utter disappointment*

"Well, can we get this over with?" Link asked. "We've been needing to take control for a few minutes and you can't do that with only half the team!"

"Yes you can- I did it earlier!" Sonic pointed out.

"Actually there's a difference between "taking control" and "using your special ability"," Kirby informed intelligently. Sonic gave him a look then turned his gaze back to Link.

"Either way, couldn't you and Mario have taken care of it without Kirby and I?"

"Maaaaybe…BUT WE WANTED TO DO IT TOGETHER, DARN IT!"

Mario: o.O;

"…I have no idea what compelled me to say that…"

"At least you didn't start up on the power of teamwork-"

"Thank goodness he didn't-"

"Hey! Stop referring to me!" Sonic snapped to Amy and Eggman who were now snickering off to the side. He folded his arms, then thought twice and threw them over his head, taking control and swapping into 3D. "Happy now?"

"Yes," Link responded happily. Now that they were in the 3rd Dimension, the red platform that appeared was no longer directly underneath the next platform, but to the side of it- kind of like a stair! When they climbed up, Mario found a normal, pure-blue switch and jumped on it- the door at the top of the tree appeared!

"…which means we'll have to go all the way back down…" Kirby trailed woozily.

"Sweet! I'm going first!" Sonic wailed, jumping off the side. Kirby blinked then floated down after. Link and Mario returned to the rest of the gang to inform them of what happened. When Mario mentioned that a door appeared at the top of the tree, Amy jumped up and down excitedly.

"That's great!"

"I'm not waiting around here- Geronimo!" Bowser boomed, jumping off the side as well. The rest of crew either jumped or delicately climbed back down, except for Amy and Mario. Mario was getting ready to jump down as well when Amy spoke up.

"You want to know something I just realized, Mario?" Amy asked, looking a bit perplexed. Mario froze in his mid-leap position to listen. "If we had just stayed at the top of the tree, we could have controlled the switch for everyone else…then they could have navigated the tree even easier…"

Mario: …let's not mention that.

"Good plan."

They exchanged a nod, then bounded back to the bottom of the tree together. When they landed stylishly at the bottom, they entered the pipe, where everyone else was waiting in front of the door. Mario made his way through the crowd and entered the door quickly- he was certainly ready to get away from this tree…

. . .

Now the gang was at the very top of the tree- where all the leaves were. They all shared a universal groan at the fact that still were not finished with the tree adventure.

"Next thing you know we'll be climbing right into the sky!" complained Sonic. "Oh well…at least were getting somewhere."

"Now all we have to do is-"

"_LEAVE!"_

Everyone turned to Peach whose mouth was still in mid-word.

"Leave? Was that some kind of pun, Peach?"

"No, I didn't say that…"

"Leave! Leave! Leave! Leave! _Please!"_ the female voice continued to cry out, shouting frantically and getting closer. Everyone turned their gazes upward, watching as the owner of the voice came floating down to their level. "You have to get out of here- hurry!"

She landed just before them, giving them a pained look before running right at them and continued to tell them to get a move on.

No one could move, however. Especially Link.

"Z-Zelda…?"

"You're alive? You're here? You're ALIVE?" guffawed Amy, only to receive several hits. Her utter shock was so great that she didn't even notice. Zelda ignored the bittersweet reunion and kept telling them to get out of there.

"Zelda, what's going on?" Sonic asked, on the alert. Zelda shook her head and madly waved her hands.

"There's no time to explain- you've gotta go! It's a trap!"

"See, that's what I hate about these kind of things- you're told it's a trap, yet you stick around anyway because you want to know the full story," sighed Bowser.

Link, Amy, and Peach were still stuck in the shock that Zelda was alive, Kirby and Ganondorf were dumbstruck at how Zelda was _here_ of all places, Bowser was obviously indifferent, Eggman was simply surprised, Sonic was debating over whether to run because it was a trap or figure out the mystery behind Zelda's return, and Mario felt like he was the only one that noticed someone was watching them…

"There's no time for hugs, explanations, or questions- just get out of here, please!" Zelda continued to say.

"We're certainly not going to leave you here," Peach replied, snapping out of her trance.

"Forget about me- Get. Out. Of. Here."

"M-Maybe we should listen…I don't feel so good about this…" moaned Kirby.

"Ah ha ha. Finally, you arrive! You don't wear tardiness well."

"NO!"

Zelda suddenly charged her arm forward, creating a crystal blue barrier around everyone for protection as electrical sparks were directed to rain upon then. Then she was abruptly jerked into the air by an unseen force…

…though that force most likely originated from the black and purple jester floating off to the side.

"At last, the heroes…" he said with a sparkle in his eye.

Kirby, Peach, Bowser, and Ganondorf struck battle stances while Link, Sonic, Amy, and Eggman growled, "YOU!"

He gave a sadistic grin and pointed at Mario.

"I know you from the festival of hair that dances upon your lip! And for those that do not know me…" he glanced at the former four. "I am a humble servant of Count Bleck…Master of dimensions…Pleaser of crowds…I am…Dimentio!"

"Get a load of this guy…" huffed Ganondorf.

"That's the guy who was at our wedding!" Amy realized.

"That's also the same guy who pushed me into you! Brr…" shivered Sonic.

"And he's the one that corrupted Fracktail…" added Link. "And now he's got Zelda!"

"We should have listened to her…" Kirby trailed unsurely.

"It is truly enchanting to finally meet my hapless victims. I have prepared a special morsel of a treat for you!" Dimentio continued, lifting his finger into the air then striking it downward. The whole area around the team of heroes seemed to crumble apart, Zelda trying to fight her way out of Dimentio's invisible grip. The area around them went from a leafy green to an electric green box. "How about some…MAGIC!"

"I told you…it was a trap…" Zelda managed to grasp out.

"And…voila. You are now in Dimension D, a dimension of my own creation."

"You created your own dimension?" gasped Kirby. "Holy crow…"

Dimentio nodded furiously. "In this mind-bending realm, my attacks are 256 times more potent! I am now far more powerful! I could obliterate you with the raise of an eyebrow! Now we must duel, like two gleaming banjos on a moonlit stoop!"

"…what the heck?" "This guys is nuts!" "He's a psycho, that's for sure…" "Someone's got their screw in a ball."

Dimentio then suddenly propelled Zelda forward, Link jetting forward and catching her instantly.

"I'm done with you now…you've stalled them long enough for me to trap them into their destruction!" Dimentio continued giddily, starting to glide around the room.

"He caught me when I jumped…" Zelda explained, trying to remove herself from Link's grasp. "He knew you'd be coming here…and he knew you wouldn't leave if you saw me…"

"Son of a nasty…of COURSE we wouldn't leave! We thought you were dead for crying out loud!" Amy screeched.

"Zelda…I…" Link stammered to say. Zelda instead screamed and summoned Nayru's Love over them all again as Dimentio's recent attack came flying toward them.

"Can this wait until we're not being targeted for death?"

"I…y-yeah, that's probably better…"

"We are so fighting this time around!" Sonic exclaimed, stretching his limbs. "We haven't gotten in a good boss in awhile…Peach, Zelda, Amy, you're backup."

"What if _we_ want to fight?" Bowser dared to ask.

"Hey! You got to fight the giant Blooper!" Kirby shot back.

"We didn't _have_ to, you know," replied Ganondorf.

"Besides, this Dimentio character seems like an amusing challenge…" Eggman mused.

"We get the complicated guys!"

"Can you pierce…this illusion?" Dimentio asked, snapping his fingers and creating a mirrored copy of himself. Despite being only a mirror copy, the second Dimentio could attack just like the first.

"No more wasting time! Let's finish him off already!" Zelda ordered. "DIN'S FIRE!"

Dimentio sweat dropped as Zelda's massive dome of fire came in contact with him, harming him greatly. Sonic whistled.

"Wow, she sure is resilient! But I wanna join the party too!"

"I am so zoned out right now…" Link trailed, grabbing his head as Kirby flew over it toward Dimentio. "I dunno if I can f-fight…"

"Dimentio had Zelda."

"…he is going to pay!"

Amy grinned. "Works every time."

"I'm still incredibly confused, however…"

"Ah ha ha- seven against one? That would hardly be fair…" Dimentio scoffed, he and his copy maneuvering around like ghosts. "…except we are in my dimension, where I always win!"

"Not this time…"

Time to get serious, Mario decided, seeing the rest of his friends start to take some action. Link was obviously having a hard time focusing, as he was still readjusting to Zelda's sudden appearance. Zelda herself seemed not to care about what she had been through, and just wanted to keep moving forward. Sonic, Kirby, Peach, and Amy, had digested the fact Zelda was here to help and were trying to beat the snot out of Dimentio.

"What are we supposed to do, watch?" grumbled Ganondorf.

"It's not like we can't occasionally attack…" shrugged Eggman, pulled out his gun and blasting the real Dimentio, who froze to recoil and gave Kirby a chance to tackle him. "See?"

"Fighting on the sidelines…I like it!" Bowser exclaimed.

Dimentio, meanwhile, would never admit it, but he truly was outnumbered, and it was looking apparent that he was outmatched as well. He created this dimension- his attacks were supposed to be 256 more times as powerful! Why were these pests not falling in defeat, begging for mercy? Every time he'd move, there would be a hero there to take a whack at him.

Amy let out a battle cry and slammed the real Dimentio with her hammer, sending him flying toward the ground. Before he even hit the floor, Kirby was there to send him back up with a slice from his Final Cutter. Dimentio flew vertically up into the air, where he was knocked out of his flight path by a kick from Sonic. He snapped his fingers and tried to teleport away from all the damage he was receiving, only to end up right in front of Zelda, who blasted him into the wall with a devastating Farore's Wind.

"You play rough, like a gang of bullies picking on a nerd on the playground…" the jester huffed.

"As long as you're the nerd," sneered Sonic. Dimentio's grin never faltered.

"I've still got a few tricks up my marvelous sleeves, however."

"What does he mean by-"

"ARGH!"

Dimentio lifted up his hands, and suddenly boxes began to come to life, trapping Amy, Kirby, Sonic, and even Bowser and Eggman who weren't up to anything. The rest of the group did their best to avoid the boxes- Mario even used them to his advantage to climb up and reach Dimentio to jump on his head. The victims caught in the boxes suffered a nasty explosion afterwards.

"Aw man, that didn't feel good…" groaned Kirby.

"What did I even do?" Bowser complained.

"I know what I'm going to do," growled Ganondorf, creating a purple sphere and launching it at Dimentio. Dimentio mirrored himself at the last moment, and the attack hit the copy. Ganondorf angrily pounded at the wall. Dimentio then continued his rampage with a rain of electric sparkles, which Peach defended against.

"Oh, how I wish I had Tippi…" she moaned as she was safe under her umbrella.

"Don't move, Peach!" Zelda called, using Peach's umbrella to get some air. "Din's Fire!"

"Oh, not again-"

Dimentio was burned to a very crispy crisp, Link taking advantage of his weak state and slicing his sword into his side. Dimentio lurched forward and nearly toppled out of the air. He cast another round of boxes, this time surrounding Peach, Link, Zelda, and Kirby again.

"Why am I gett- OW!" wailed Kirby. Dimentio cackled insanely, cuing Sonic to conk him on the head with a spin dash and Mario to follow up with a kick to the stomach. Amy came out of nowhere and bashed Dimentio to the ground, where Bowser felt the need to do his part and burned Dimentio once again.

"Keep hammering at him!" Zelda cried, blowing Dimentio into a wall again.

"Didja say hammer?" Amy and Kirby asked, both simultaneously whacking Dimentio with said weapon. Dimentio glared at them, while still smiling in his sinister little way, before sending sparks in all directions and making contact with the duo. As he started to get back off the ground, Sonic rolled in from nowhere and slammed into Dimentio's stomach like a bowling ball. Having the wind knocked out of him, Dimentio crashed right back to the ground, where Link pulled off a few Jabs. Mario helped out with several stylish jumps.

"He's almost done for!" shouted Kirby.

"No holding back…" breathed Zelda. Dimentio hovered back into the air and went absolutely crazy with his sparks. Peach, Zelda and Amy remained safe, but the same couldn't be said for everyone else.

"Ow! OW! They sting!" yelped Eggman, flinching while rubbing his now sore shoulder.

"Where'd the little jerk go?" Link grunted, doing his best to reflect the projectiles away with his shield.

"I'm right behind you."

Link let out a cry as Dimentio once again caught him in a box, then did the same to Sonic, Eggman, Peach, and Amy.

"I'm surprised that you've managed to outlast my boxes for this long," Dimentio admitted as the boxes exploded again, the new round of victims looking particularly weak. Amy even slumped to the floor. Dimentio took their current states of weakness as a striking opportunity and unleashed another onslaught of sparkles after he mirrored himself. What he wasn't counting on was Mario latching onto his back and bringing him to the ground. As Mario attacked mercilessly, Kirby ran up to Zelda.

"Hey, can you help me?"

"what am I doing?"

Kirby handed her Thoreau while panting heavily. "Use this Pixl…and throw me at Dimentio."

"Throw you? Will that even really work?"

"Trust me! When I have a plan, it never fails!"

"If you say so…" Zelda trailed, grabbing Kirby who braced himself. "Mario, aim upwards!"

Mario heard Zelda's cry and performed an uppercut on Dimentio. However, Mario's fist wasn't powerful enough to send him into the air.

"I've got this!" yelled Sonic, running over then performing a bicycle kick on Dimentio's face. That was sure to send the clown flying! Now that Dimentio was airborne, Zelda chucked Kirby in his direction. Kirby was spinning around like a top, Final Cutter outstretched in his hands. He struck Dimentio like a chainsaw, the master of dimensions not being shown any mercy. He continued to try to fight back, tossing his lethal sparkles at anyone who happened to be close, but most of them were blocked off by Ganondorf's wall of flames. Peach delicately floated over Dimentio's head, then used Thudley (who Bowser graciously allowed her to use) to ground pound onto him.

Peach: ^^

"There's really nothing you can do, you freak!" Zelda exclaimed, and Dimentio knew she was about to bombard him with another round of Din's Fire. Instead, Link came flying out from behind her and dealt what was apparently the final blow with his sword. Unable to hold himself up any longer, Dimentio accepted defeat and crashed face first onto the floor.

"Your blows are like miniature jackhammers wielded by tiny, angry road workers!" Dimentio cried. Everyone gathered around in a circle around him, making sure that he wouldn't escape. "How is this possible? This dimension makes me 256 times more powerful…"

"Wouldn't it make us 256 times more powerful too?" Kirby questioned, a hand placed to his chin.

"…that would make sense," added Eggman.

"…ah…ha…ha…"

Dimentio returned to the air, floating as if nothing happened- or that he was nearly beaten to a pulp. "Of course! This was simply an amusement that played out exactly as I planned! Were you amused? That was just a hors d'oeuvre! The next time we meet, you will feast on a deadly eight-course meal!"

He brought them all back to the top of the Dotwood Tree, as he didn't want them lingering around in his dimension. With a final glance at Mario, Dimentio said, "Ciao for now, my mustachioed foe!"

And he teleported away, leaving everyone staring in awe.

"That certainly was interesting…" Sonic mused.

"I don't like that guy at all!" Bowser roared.

"Something is definitely off about him…" admitted Peach. "I still do wonder who he truly is…"

Mario rested his head in his chin and stared off into the sky, pondering.

. . .

"Mmm…a little more, perhaps? They are strong, but they must be stronger yet to defeat Bleck. I must make sure they can face him when the times comes around at last…"

. . .

"…can we have our happy reunion now?" Peach asked, turning to Zelda. Zelda smiled warmly and nodded.

"Yes we can."

"All right. ZELDA!" both Peach and Amy wailed, throwing their arms around the princess. The rest of the group was quick to crowd around and started throwing questions at Zelda.

"Why'd you jump?" "Why'd Dimentio help you?" "Were you and Link really supposed to get married?" "You do still love him, right?" "Where did you learn some of those moves? "Why are you so calm?" "When's lunch?" "Kirby!"

"Easy, easy," Zelda chuckled, ushering them all away. "I didn't realize I was so missed!"

"Zelda, we heard you jumped off the edge of the castle into the Void!" Sonic exclaimed. "It's only natural that we would worry…"

"I'm sorry if I frightened you all with that move, especially you, Peach and Amy, since you had to witness it…" Zelda sighed. "It's just…I overreacted. I couldn't bear the thought of Nastasia getting her hands on my mind again…"

She sadly glanced over at Link. "She almost made me lose you…"

Most of the group glared angrily at Link, and the poor swordsman knew where _this_ conversation would be heading quite soon.

"Aw man, Zelda…you don't know how guilty and ashamed I feel…" moaned Link, slowly walking closer to her with each word. "I left at by far the wrong time…I was believing a lie this whole time…and now thanks to my friends, they've got me thinking this entire thing is all my fault…"

"We shouldn't have linked you with this mess, Link…" Amy sighed, staring at the ground. "Well, I'm the one who thought up the theory, so I should be apologizing…I was just mad that you didn't even think to invite any of your friends to your own wedding…"

"So she basically did it to make you feel even worse, but then we all started to believe that," Peach added. "Things could have been different, but there's no way that can pinpoint the fault to you."

"I'm sorry for getting all up in your business about it," murmured Sonic, back turned. "It hurts…but I should have at least considered what you had to be feeling after what you've been through..."

"Is_ everyone_ sorry for something?" Ganondorf whispered to Eggman, who shrugged in response. Kirby burst out into tears and hugged Link's back.

"I'm sorry just because I can be sorry! WAH! It's so touching!"

"I'd take that as a yes…" Bowser whispered back to Ganondorf, who only sighed in response.

"There's no more need to dwell on anything now," Zelda assured, the only one aside from Mario that wasn't feeling down. "I'm back, safe and sound, what happened has happened, and now we must work on getting everything fixed, okay? There's no more need to bring it up again…"

"How did I ever think you never loved me…" Link sighed, pulling Zelda into a hug which simultaneously knocked Kirby to the floor. When he glanced up, he just started crying all over again.

"So…much…LOVE!"

"Oh boy…" groaned Bowser, Eggman, and Ganondorf.

"Did you think I was lying when I said that I'd marry you?" Zelda questioned in his ear. "I would never do that…"

"I'm sorry…I'm a jerk…you're a way better person than I am…"

Zelda shook her head and placed a finger to his lips. "Hush. I said no more dwelling, okay?"

"Okay…now that I know you're safe, and not in love with Ganondorf, I can start feeling a little better…"

Zelda made a face. "Why the heck would you think I'd want to be with him anyway?"

"It was a spur of the moment thing…"

"You know what? I suddenly feel tons better!" Sonic exclaimed, spreading out his arms. Dashell grinned excitedly at his side.

"Finally you've got your spirit back! Seriously!"

"What are these things anyway?" Zelda asked, reaching behind Link and holding Boomer in her hands.

"I'm a Pixl, sss-BOOM! My name is Boomer!"

"I'm Thoreau!" called Thoreau, now floating over Zelda's shoulder. "But, we've already been somewhat acquainted!"

"The name's Thudley," Thudley said, flying away from Peach and returning back to Bowser.

"Howdy! I'm Slim!" Slim exclaimed, spinning around excitedly.

"And I'm Dashell! I've got a love for life! Really!"

"It's certainly nice to meet you all," Zelda stated honestly with a smile.

"Tippi's the one you should really meet…" Peach murmured under her breath. Zelda perked up her ears.

"What was that, Peach?"

"There's still one Pixl you haven't met…her name is Tippi," she explained.

"But she was kidnapped by a nerd and now we're following another Pixl whose name is Barry's advice to find the fort where she was taken to," added Kirby. "Oh yeah, and to get a Pure Heart too."

"I certainly have a lot of catching up to do…"

"Hey, I still don't even know half of whatever's going on- I'll just stick along for the ride…" Eggman stated.

Mario gave Zelda a thumbs up, which she eagerly returned, in turn reminding Sonic about just what they were doing.

"Giant chasm…red wind…guys, we've gotta finish climbing this tree!"

"I'm willing to help, if it is needed," Zelda stated.

"Shoot, after all that, we are not leaving without you," Link said with a grin.

"Zelda's coming with us? Zelda's coming with us?" Kirby blared like a siren. Zelda bent down and patted his head.

"That is correct, Kirby."

"YAY!"

"Zelda has joined the team! She can whip up a deadly Farore's Wind to blow away enemies and cloak herself briefly. Also, when Team Z.A.P. takes control, Zelda uses her beautiful gown to glide over gaps without a problem. Defensively, she can use Nayru's Love to protect herself (and other people), like Amy's ball form and Peach's parasol. Her battle ability is being incredibly dodgy, meaning that she is harder to hit."

"Plus I've got Din's Fire under my belt, as I've demonstrated," Zelda added. She then placed her hands on her hips and stared upward. "So, we getting to the top of this thing or what?"

"Someone's impatient," teased Link. Zelda rolled her eyes.

"What can I say? We've all been through a lot, but now I think things are starting to lookup, so why not embrace it?"

"Ugh, positivism…" groaned Ganondorf. "Just what this group needs."

"Okay, one last thing…why are the villains following you around?" Zelda asked Amy in a hushed tone.

"They're on our side since we have a common goal," was the casual reply. "They've actually been quite helpful!"

"Okay."

"Well now there's no more bad feelings in the air, I'm climbing up!" Sonic announced, making large leaps toward the very top of the tree. Zelda beamed and promptly followed.

"She really does catch on fast…" Kirby noted.

"It's a good quality to have, I think," Peach admitted.

Mario was thrilled that Zelda was back- he could already sense spirits lifted in the team! Not to mention how relieving it was to hear that she was fine…

"Hey, what're these red things falling out of the sky?" Eggman questioned, rubbing the back of his head after being struck by one. After seeing that Eggman was hit by a Spiny, Mario figured there was a Lakitu floating around somewhere. When Mario pointed up at it, Eggman pulled a small remote control out of his pocket and pushed the center button. Within seconds it had transformed into his battle mech, to which Mario had to sweat drop at.

Mario: Is that really necessary at the moment?

"Of course it is! That Lakitu thing hit me in the head! Let's see how he likes it when I get through with him…"

"How come you didn't use that battle mech during the fight with Dimentio?" Amy asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Uh…well, you guys were griping about how you never had a chance to fight, so I allowed you the opportunity. Now let me kill that Lakitu."

Sonic rolled his eyes as Eggman's mech- which was similar to his Egg Walker- started firing at anything that moved while he made his way up to the Lakitu. Kirby, Peach, Link, and Bowser had to weave and bob out of the way from his lasers several times.

"…okay, while Eggman's working on his Lakitu extermination project, I say we find a way to get to the top of this thing a lot faster," announced Zelda. "Any ideas?"

"I can climb up quickly without any help," Sonic shrugged.

"I can just float up!" added Kirby.

Amy nodded. "So can I."

"What about people like, I dunno, US?" Bowser boomed. "As the blue rat keeps mentioning, we're super-slow and our jumping ability really isn't the best…"

"If Team Luigi was here, they could just take control and practically fly to the top," Link sighed, ducking under another laser gone haywire.

"Well, let's recap- Luigi went missing, Malon was transported somewhere, Kirby says Meta Knight was sucked up by the Void, and there's speculation that Tails and Knuckles are still back on Mobius, but I think they'd be out looking for us by now," Peach announced.

"Who knows what could've happened while we were gone," Sonic threw in, four branches above the rest and still going. The gang looked up to see where he was at, only for another round of Spinies to come raining down.

"Hey Eggman, did you get the Lakitu yet?" Zelda called, putting Nayru's Love over everyone yet again. "I can't protect everyone like this every time there's random projectile!"

"There's more than one!" Eggman shouted back, still firing away.

"C'mon, step it up!"

"Quiet Sonic."

Zelda removed the protection, which allowed everyone to get moving again. Mario jumped from platform to platform, not as swiftly as Sonic was, but still at a decent speed. Kirby and Amy were flying up, with Peach, Bowser, and Ganondorf being careful not to fall. Zelda grabbed onto Link and cast Farore's Wind, bringing them upwards as well.

"It's odd…I can only teleport small distances…" Zelda trailed. "I don't know why…"

"The forced teleportation screwed up all of us, so you're not alone," Link replied.

"Ohohohohoho! I'm at the top!" Eggman's voice cried, the sound of his mech transforming back into the remote taking place.

"I still have to say that was a complete waste of your mech," Sonic admitted, jumping next to him. "Next time use it for taking down the enemy, not climbing a tree and trying to blow up turtles on clouds."

"I don't need to take advice from you-"

"H-hey! Can you guys wait up even a little bit?" huffed Bowser, visibly exhausted from exerting so much energy. "By the end of this I expect to lose a few pounds…"

"Don't lose too much girth!" chirped Thudley.

Meanwhile, Mario, Kirby, and Amy made it to the top as well, followed by Link, Zelda, and Peach. Now they were just waiting for Bowser and Ganondorf.

"I'mma say it again- they're too slow, seriously," Sonic sighed, lying on the ground while propping his head up with his arms.

"I have no comment," growled Ganondorf, glaring darkly at nothing in particular.

"How did Eggman get up there so fast?" wheezed Bowser.

"He cheated! He lets machines do his walking for him!"

"What a lazy-"

"Hello? I can most certainly hear you, you know."

"Where do we exactly go from here, anyway?" Zelda asked to change the subject, peering over the edge.

"Barry told us that there was a giant gorge we have to cross!" Kirby explained once again. "Didn't he say something about red wind?"

"You mean like this one?" Amy questioned, standing on a breeze of red-colored wind.

Everyone: O:

"How are you doing that? !"

"I have absolutely no idea! It just showed up and swept me away!"

"I wanna try!" Sonic suddenly cried, springing up and landing on the next red wind in a surfing position. "Sweet!"

"Talk about going wherever the wind takes you!" Link chuckled, breaking out into laughter. Everyone groaned.

"Oh no…"

"We'll be gone with the wind!"

"Link-"

"What? That's just the way the wind blows!"

Mario grabbed Link and pulled him onto the next gust of red wind. Apparently if you went far enough, on the other side of the gorge was an immensely huge pipe. Mario saw Sonic jump off his gust of wind at the last second, then spin dashed right through the pipe. When Mario, and a still-laughing Link, flew over the pipe, Mario gripped Link's arm and took him down as well.

**Five Minutes Later-**

"Way to hold us up, guys!" Kirby snapped to Bowser lying on the ground panting heavily and an irritated Ganondorf.

"Are you asking for a beat down?" Ganondorf hissed through gritted teeth.

"No am I not- I'm pointing out the fact that we had to wait five minutes just for you to catch up!"

"At least we're finally out of that dreaded tree!" hummed Peach contently. "And Francis' Fort is on the horizon! Tippi!"

"Who is Tippi, again?"

Peach turned to Zelda and folded her arms. "She's m- er, well, she's our main Pixl. She resembles a rainbow butterfly with knowledge about nearly everything and can locate invisible things…"

"Tippi is awfully quiet, however," added Dashell. "Not as animated as the rest of us Pixls."

"She said it had something to do with her "bad memory", whatever that means," shrugged Link. "Either way, I still hope that Francis hasn't done anything bad to her…"

"He sees her as a rare collectable- I highly doubt Tippi is in bad shape," Amy countered.

"To be honest so much was going on I sorta forgot that we were even ambushed by that geek," confessed Sonic.

"If Tippi means that much to you…" began Zelda, placing a hand on Peach's shoulder. "Then there's no point in stalling, now that we're so close."

Peach smiled and clasped her hands together. "I couldn't have said it better myself!"

"Hit the Star Block, Mario!" Link exclaimed.

Mario: Oh yeah!

The plumber took a few steps forward, then promptly hit the Star Block. Zelda watched in wonder as different colors of stars suddenly circled around, enabling them to reach the fortress in the distance. Link softly took her hand and lead her in the right direction.

. . .

Teams Mario, ZAP, and BEG had scaled the tree, defeated Dimentio, and located the once-thought lost Zelda. The exhausted heroes were relieve to finally see the ivory towers of Fort Francis. Was Tippi safe? Was the next Pure Heart really waiting for them up ahead? Their only answers were the strange voices carried on the wind from inside the fort…

* * *

**This chapter didn't quite beat Chapter 2-3 (which was chapter 13 counting the prologue) length-wise, but hey! A ton of stuff still happened! Zelda was originally going to enter a bit later, but I realized I needed her for a certain something so I wrote her in earlier. ^^**


	21. The Battle Through Fort Francis

Super Paper Mario X

Chapter 20: The Battle Through Fort Francis

"So this is where that dweeb Francis lives? Psh, what's this castle got over mine? !" sneered Bowser, not impressed by the exterior of Fort Francis.

"Do you think Tippi's all right? I still worry…" Peach trailed nervously. Mario turned to Peach and gave her an assuring nod.

Mario: Oh yeah!

**Meanwhile in Francis' Room-**

The creepy chameleon was snapping a photo of the poor rainbow butterfly trapped in a cage.

"Nerr herrr herr herr! This so hi-technicaaaaaal!" he exclaimed in his nerdy way. "It's a totally undiscovered digibutterfly species! Nerrr! I must document it!"

Tippi, in a hushed tone, whispered "Peach…" under her breath.

"Yes! Shake that thorax! The forum guys will be soooo jealous when I post these shots online!"

**Back with the Gang-**

"All right, time to break in and enter, people!" Kirby declared while striking a pose, one arm raised defiantly in the air.

"The front door's locked…" announced Amy, trying to bash and batter the lock with no luck.

"I bet we have to find some complicated nerd-way to get in," stated Link.

"Ha, in that case Eggman is all we need," snorted Ganondorf.

"Ha ha ha."

Mario looked around the fortress- there had to be _some_ way in, or at least an extra key lying around somewhere. He then flipped into 3D to see if there was anything in that dimension- and what did you know? There was a cleverly hidden pipe, covered in 2D by a lighter section in the wall.

"Hey Mario, need some backup?" Kirby asked, flipping into 3D as well. "Bowser, Eggman, and Ganondorf are in a spat again, and everyone else is trying to clear up things for Zelda. I don't even know if they noticed you flipped…"

Mario happily welcomed Kirby to follow along, then motioned toward the pipe he discovered.

"Wow. Francis is good."

Mario: *sigh*

Down the pipe was a darkened underground room, with nothing in it but a red and white block and a switch. Kirby blinked, threw Thoreau at the block, then threw the block at the switch. A chest appeared.

"Well that was anti-climatic!" he complained as Mario kicked the chest open and claimed the key. "Good thing I decided to come along- you would have needed Thoreau!"

Kirby held out Thoreau and started looking thoughtful. "In fact…I think maybe you should take Thoreau back. I kinda want Slim now."

Mario shrugged and traded Slim out for Thoreau. Thoreau was glad to be with Mario again, while Slim seemed content with following Kirby and spun around eagerly in his hands.

"Hey, does Slim remind you of Bow and Vivian?" Kirby asked out of curiosity. Mario said that Slim reminded him more of one of his old curses rather than his previous partners' abilities.

"Yeah…I guess, but if we stand still, Slim can hide us from damage, like Bow and Vivian used to! And make us paper-thin too, but…"

"It's true, yesiree!" chimed Slim. "Who're these lasses yer speaking 'bout anyway?"

"One is my girlfriend and the other is…well…a really, really good friend." Kirby then noticed Mario smirking in the corner and gave him a look. "Aw, whatever! Let's get this key in the lock."

When Mario and Kirby returned, it was still Eggman vs. Bowser and Ganondorf over "what qualified as a nerd", while Zelda was asking a ton of questions and Link, Sonic, Peach, and Amy couldn't really supply the answers. Kirby blinked again then turned to Mario.

"Do you think they would notice if we opened the door?"

Mario: Probably not.

Kirby trotted over to the lock on the door, put the key into it, and unlocked the door. It was certainly loud enough…but no one noticed.

"HEY! We got the door open!" Kirby cried, pointing frantically. All commotion stopped and all attention was directed at the door.

"Whoa, when did that happen?" questioned Bowser.

Mario groaned to himself and opened the door.

"I still would like to know how Link decides our fate or whatever…" Zelda grumbled, replying to some previously mentioned statement.

"I'm the Man in Green in the Light Prognosticus!" wailed Link dramatically. "And Amy didn't help by pointing out the possibility I may have already royally screwed us!"

"And we also pointed out the possibility that you may not even be the Man in Green!" Sonic protested.

"Heh, look at this sign," snickered Ganondorf, completely ignoring anything else at the moment. "It says "No entry unless you are a super genius like me or a totally hot babe. STAY OUT!""

"Well, I suppose that means I can enter-" Eggman started to say.

"You can't enter- you're not a totally hot babe!" Bowser pointed out. Sonic burst out in serious laughter in the background.

"_I meant_ I can enter because I'm a super genius!"

"You're not that either."

"Grrr…why am I always the target for ridicule in this team?" Eggman complained. "I'm superior to all of you!"

**Inside the Fort One Debate Later-**

"We can't just go from Point A to Point B, can we? Someone always has to make a scene before we can continue on with anything!" rambled Link.

"I totally won that debate, so I'm not complaining," Ganondorf replied stubbornly with his arms folded.

"Is it always like this?" inquired Zelda. Peach folded her arms and nodded.

"We usually get going again when Mario tells everyone to focus."

"And I take it you tend to lose focus quite a lot…"

Mario at least took note of the foyer- a robotic maid-cat was lurking around, staring up at him and mewing with wide cat eyes. Even Mario thought it was a tiny bit odd for a nerd to have robot cats dressed up like maids. Either that, or Francis just had terrible taste.

"Welcome home, master!"

It must have been automated.

"Well, anyway, I think I'm just going to enter this obvious door-"

Mario stopped Link by holding up his hand.

"What is it, Mario?"

Mario told Peach and Bowser to go on ahead. Bowser raised an eyebrow while Peach delicately asked, "Why?"

"I'm sure he wants us to explore every possible inch of the castle so we can find Tippi more efficiently," Zelda declared.

"It's all the same to me, not that we really get a say in anything," muttered Ganondorf.

"If you think we should, then I won't test your judgment," Peach decided, spinning on her heels and entering through the door. Amy giggled excitedly as Zelda, Bowser, Ganondorf, and Eggman piled in after. Mario grinned to himself once they were gone, but then took control and flipped into 3D.

"Okay, could you fill us in on what's going on?" Sonic asked. Mario walked over to the door in 3D, then jumped right over it to a secret area that would be impossible to notice in 2D. Kirby gasped dramatically.

"Holy cow! How did you even know about that?"

Mario: Instinct.

"There must be something of value here if Francis has it hidden like this…" Sonic deduced, peering into the pipe. "Are we going down?"

"Of course we are!" cried Kirby, jumping in first. Sonic shrugged and entered too. Link turned to Mario, who was pointing eagerly at the pipe.

"You never cease to amaze me."

Mario gave a sheepish shrug, Link grinning and heading on down. After double checking everything, Mario followed after.

**Teams ZAP and BEG-**

"Holy door!" gawked Amy, staring at the huge cat door looming before them.

"Yeah, this castle ain't got nothing on mine," scoffed Bowser. "For a nerd, this place is so totally…feminine!"

"That's a double negative, meaning that you just said this castle does have something on yours," Eggman pointed out.

"Oh yeah? Well you used a double positive!" Bowser shot back. Ganondorf smacked his forehead.

"If it's a double positive, it'll still be positive! Even I know that."

"Then how does the double negative work?"

"They cancel each other out," added Zelda. Bowser's mind went blank for a moment.

"…whatever! Now, what the heck are we supposed to be doing anyway?"

Peach ignored the squabble going on behind her to peek into one of the two key holes in the large door. There was constantly flashing and silent muttering going on inside, meaning that something certainly was happened. With a quick look, Peach discovered Francis having a field day with photos.

"Schweet…the resolution on these images is just breathtaking! Nerrrr…it's so hi-technicaaaaaal!"

Peach recoiled in repulse, but then wondered just what he was so crazy snapping pictures of. Inching her way over to second keyhole, she felt her heart stop.

There was Tippi.

"Eeek! We've got to unlock this door and get the heck in there!" she suddenly cried, repelling herself away. "That's where Tippi and Francis are!"

"Makes me wonder where the keys are- there's two of them obviously, since there's two keyholes," pondered Zelda.

"I doubt in here…" Eggman muttered absentmindedly, too busy studying the technology of the nearest cat-bot.

"The keys to Master's door?" it suddenly chirped. "Just keep going up, up, up until you find two doors. Each key is behind each door, meow!"

"Excellent information…to your doom! Mwahaha!" cackled Ganondorf.

"C'mon, let's hurry!" Peach exclaimed, rushing for the next door. "We need to help Tippi!"

"ACK! Peach, don't go too fast- we won't be able to keep up!" wailed Bowser, trying to hurry after. Peach's determination to save Tippi kept her going forward, however, and she threw the door open to the next room. To her disappointment, there was nothing in there but another Meowmaid.

"Aw man…"

"This room isn't empty, Peach…" Zelda trailed, sidling up next to her. She pointed up, Peach turning her head in said direction. There was an upper area above their heads, plus the sound of something trampling around up there…

"How are we supposed to get up there?" Amy asked, tapping her foot. "There's probably something in 3D, but we all seem to lack that particular ability…"

"Um…what are they doing, exactly?" Peach questioned, glancing over to the villains.

"How'd they even beat us in here?"

"All right! Try to stand on your tippy toes! I've almost got the edge!" Ganondorf called down to Bowser, whose shoulders he was balancing on. Bowser was looking to be in a ton of pain.

"Oom…I dunno who would be worse- you or Eggman on my shoulders! Eggman may be fat, but dang you've got bulk!"

"Stop insulting my mass!" Eggman shouted. Bowser raised an eyebrow.

"_Mass?_ What the heck does that have to do with anything?"

"Technically weight is how much gravitational force is being exerted on you, not how much matter you're made of or contain, which is mass. See the difference?"

"No, you're still fat all around," Ganondorf replied bluntly. "As for you, Mr. Chunky, this all happens to be muscle-"

"Just grab the edge already before I drop you!" Bowser demanded, straining to keep Ganondorf up while Eggman casually watched from the sides. Zelda shook her head while Amy facepalmed.

"There must have been an easier way to do that…" Peach trailed while sweat dropping.

Finally, Ganondorf latched onto the edge and pulled himself up…only to be pushed off by a huge pink Meowmaid with a blaring siren on its head right back onto Bowser, landing in an awkward pile.

"MEOW!"

"Wasn't…expecting…that…" panted Ganondorf, eyes wide as saucers.

"I wasn't expecting to get instantaneously crushed either," Bowser scowled, promptly throwing Ganondorf back off. "That didn't work. Whadda we do now?"

"We use the delicate approach," Peach responded, walking over to where Bowser once stood with Amy and Zelda following. "You girls know what we're doing?"

Zelda nodded while Amy grinned and gave a thumbs up. Ganondorf stood up and folded his arms.

"If you three think that you can get up there despite the fact that cat-bot is up there, then you must be-"

Peach and Zelda crouched down low, hands extended and cuffed as if they were performing some sort of cheerleading move. Amy then ran forward, placing her foot in Peach and Zelda's palms, to which the princesses simultaneously flung her in the air. Amy continued to grinned eagerly as she was suddenly leveled with the Meowmaid, who tried to launch a bomb at her. Moving forward, Amy smacked the bomb right back then slammed into its head with her hammer. The Meowmaid toppled over in a constant fit of meowing, giving Amy and a chance to lean over the edge and help up Peach and Zelda as well.

Bowser, Eggman, and Ganondorf just gawked.

"Now, you want to try the shoulder thing again now that we've dispatched the Meowmaid?" Peach asked lightheartedly. Eggman had to smirk at that- Ganondorf slammed his fist into the nearest wall while Bowser's palm made contact with his face.

**Team Mario-**

"Wow, this is interesting," announced Sonic as they entered the hidden chamber. Just like most of the other underground chambers, it was hued in blue. Up ahead was another pipe, which Kirby tried to test but he couldn't get through. Mario figured that it came out from somewhere…

"Hey, there's a dimension-switching block here…" Link trailed, motioning to the yellow block floating in mid air. "I wonder why it's placed above this bed of spikes, though…"

"Something's on the other side, I'm sure of it!" exclaimed Kirby.

"Plus there's a sign up there- it might have useful info," Sonic added.

In that case, Mario gave the yellow block a whack and sent it flipping into 3D, considering they couldn't get beyond the spikes in 2D. Following the block, Mario discovered there was an upper area in 3D, enabling them to get over the spikes. Link, Sonic, and Kirby saw where he was going with it and jumped up too. However, Sonic caught note of the sign he had spotted earlier, and now that he was at eyelevel with it, he could read it.

"For Francis' eyes only…Room on the right: 2323. Room on the left: 2828..." Sonic read. "Huh, sounds like a set of passwords or something…"

**Team ZAP and Team BEG**-

"Grah! Stupid cat things…" Bowser grumbled upon finally entering the next door, burning three blue robots out of commission. Eggman winced at the sight of such delicate technology being dispatched so easily.

"Look at that! There's two doors dangling on the walls!" Zelda gaped. "I don't even want to comprehend how that's even possible…"

Sure enough, two light red and gold doors were hanging off the ivory walls, slightly swaying from the movement going on below.

"Is there any way to knock them down, perhaps?" Amy pondered.

"Most likely." Ganondorf aimed more purple orbs and another set of Francis' servants.

"What did they ever do to you?" Eggman shouted in their defense. Ganondorf gave him a quizzical look.

"They were trying to eat me alive- it was only natural I took care of them first!"

"I _must _ask him how he made them…"

"Oh, please don't go "I can't hurt a fellow nerd!" on us when the time comes to confront him."

"At least I take interest in technological advances, unlike some people who reply on power and magic…"

"Bowser…" Peach trailed, once again tuning out Ganondorf and Eggman's latest argument. "I bet if you ground pounded, it would be enough to rattle the doors down to the floor! Can you do that for us?"

Bowser folded his arms and violently shook his head. "No. I don't think so."

"Can you do that for me?"

"Why didn't you ask that sooner? Of course I will!"

Peach put on a blank face while Zelda and Amy started snickering under their breath. Bowser enthusiastically jumped up under the right door, then crashed into the ground after a devastating spin. The rumble and shaking he had caused did exactly what Peach predicted- knocked the door down. Peach smirked and placed her hands on her hips.

"Well what do you know?"

Bowser stormed under the left door, then knocked that one to the ground as well. And now that both doors were accessible…which one would they go through?

"…we could split up?" suggested Amy. "We could go through the right door while you check out the left?"

"There's a key behind each of these doors anyway, so we'd probably save some time if we split up," Zelda added.

"What do you think?" Peach asked Bowser. Bowser thought it over.

"Eh…I dunno. I'll have to consult my lackeys."

"I wonder if 'lackey' is Bowser's term for 'friend'," Zelda whispered to Amy who giggled in response.

"I think we should split up- get away from them for awhile," proclaimed Ganondorf.

"It would be to our benefit," Eggman included. Bowser nodded and threw a fist up in the air.

"Then splitting up it is!…don't get caught in some nerd trap, Peach."

"I'm sure I'll be fine," Peach answered, slinging her parasol over her shoulder as she, Zelda, and Amy headed into the right door.

"This'll be fun!" was the last thing they heard from Amy. Ganondorf then suddenly mulled over the situation.

"Hmm…I do enjoy their lack of company, but I'm not entirely sure if they can handle it alone…"

"I trust them- they certainly know how to get around things, trust me…" grumbled Bowser. "They used to sneak around my castle all the time…er, Peach's castle, but it was under my command at the time. And in the sky."

"Long story short, they'll be fine, right?" Eggman interrupted. Bowser gave a firm nod and opened the left door.

"That's exactly what I'm saying."

**Team Mario-**

Sonic heard Kirby suddenly start panicking after he made sure to memorize the codes, and jumped down onto the other side to see what was going on. Apparently that was a bad move.

"No, Sonic! We can't get back across now!" wailed Kirby.

"Well thanks for informing me of that _before_ I jumped!"

"Am I the only one that noticed the thing behind these bars?" Link questioned, pointing to said thing behind bars.

Mario: I was staring at the obvious giant switch in the corner.

"HEY THERE!"

All four of them jumped at the shout, and with another look, they figured out it had plainly come from the prisoner in the cell.

"You seem friendly! If so, give me a hand! If not, give me a hand anyway!"

"Is that a Pixl?" Link asked with a closer look. Kirby nearly shoved him out of the way just to poke at it.

"Aw, it's kinda cute! And it's a girl Pixl!"

"Tippi is a girl Pixl too, ya know," Sonic reminded him.

Mario attempted to jump onto the switch, but to his very horror it turned out that they would've needed Bowser and Thudley to get the job done. When the other three saw the worried look on Mario's face as he started randomly kicking and hitting the switch, they too caught onto the problem.

"…maybe we should have brought them with us?" suggested Kirby meekly.

"We didn't know that we would need Thudley!" Sonic said. "I bet they're deep in the fort now, however…"

**Team BEG (after defying logic)-**

"How did we get up here?" gaped Eggman as he rapidly fired lasers at another Meowmaid. "Not only was this upper part way too high for us to do the "shoulder thing", but there wasn't even anything to climb up from!"

"Don't question it- just accept it and try to get rid of this thing!" Ganondorf responded while forcing another wall of fire in the Meowmaid's direction.

"It's not going down, so I'mma just walk around it to get to the door…" Bowser trailed casually, Eggman and Ganondorf giving him looks as they continued to launch their strongest attacks at it.

"This isn't working either!" Eggman groaned in a frustrated manner, getting tired of his onslaught of lasers.

"Maybe we should go with Bowser's plan…"

Ganondorf fought back against the maid one last time, then used Bowser's tactic and snuck right by it. It then glared angrily at Eggman, who quickly stopped firing lasers and followed after the duo.

"Way to leave me behind!" he huffed angrily, slamming the next door behind him. "Eh…where does this lead to, anyway?"

"Apparently a balcony," shrugged Ganondorf. "There's more fort over there, but there's no way to get across."

"That switch looks suspicious though," Bowser said, pointing upwards. "Now how are we going to hit it?"

"I'd say we need that one Pixl that throws things but he's in Team Mario's possession."

"Who needs that wimpy Pixl when we got me and my Egg Laser Gun?" Eggman cackled insanely.

"Was it necessary to add the "Egg" in front of laser?" Bowser asked.

"Yeah, all that does is emphasize how lame it is," added Ganondorf.

Eggman frowned to himself while striking the switch (and a flying Meowmaid) with one of hit lasers. Apparently that did the trick, as a huge bridge extended from their 'balcony' and slowly made its way to connect with the distant side of the fort. After what seemed like hours of waiting, the bridge was final safe to walk on.

"Took long enough," growled Bowser, being the first one to cross.

**One really long walk later-**

"Hoo boy! I should come here more often to get a workout!" Bowser exclaimed while performing some stretches.

"Don't even conjure up some joke about me, either," Eggman spat, directed more at Ganondorf than Bowser.

Anyway, on the other side of the fort was an important looking room, yet the only thing worth mentioning there was a green Meowmaid, and it was safe to admit it looked scarier than the previous ones before- including the huge pink ones with the siren heads.

"You have reached the door to Master's private room," it explained. "For security purposes, you must confirm your identity."

"Uh oh…"

Ganondorf pushed Eggman up to the front. "You're the smart one- there's probably going to be a bunch of nerd related questions involved, so you're answering."

"Answer the following security questions with either "true" or "false"."

Before Eggman could get a word out to Ganondorf's abrupt proclamation, the questioning began.

"Video game soundtracks are totally hi-technicaaaaaaal!"

"Probably true," Eggman answered, thinking like Francis most likely would. Bowser and Ganondorf had their fingers crossed.

"Episode 127 of "The Grodus Chronicles" is pretty much the schweetest thing ever."

"True…?"

"One day, I will own all of the "Starship X-Naut" Series 3 collectible action figures."

"True."

"Everyone knows action figures are manly dolls," Ganondorf scoffed, Bowser punching him in the arm. "HEY! What did I ever-"

"Now you must enter the passcode."

All three of them froze.

"Uh…we seem to be lacking such vital information…"gulped Eggman.

"Punch some numbers or something!" Ganondorf demanded. "It's most likely something nerdy and complicated anyway!"

"You are subliminally putting me down, I know it!"

"What? I'm actually not! … this time, at least. Just take a very well-educated guess!"

"Actually, I think I can help in this category," Bowser revealed, stepping forward and up to the Meowmaid. "I believe the passcode is… 9-0-0-0."

Eggman and Ganondorf twitched. "9000? !"

Bowser struck a confident pose. "I'm sure that's it. Trust me."

"I don't think I want to…" admitted Eggman, catching sight of the Maidmeow preparing to go crazy.

"MEEEEEEOOOOOW! MEEEEEOOOOW! MEEEEEEOOOW! You are not the Master! Deploy security measures!" it blared.

The floor disappeared under Team BEG's feet, causing them to drop into a lower chamber…that contained a Chomp.

"BARK! BARK! BARK!" it said, already trying to take a bite out of them the moment they hit the floor. Regaining their senses quicker than humanely possible, the trio jetted to the right side of the room to get away from Chomp.

"Whoa nelly…"

"Okay…not really sure what to make of that, but apparently 9000 was not the code…" concluded Bowser. He took another step back upon another attempted assault from the Chomp, only to trip onto a large button that rested behind him. Ganondorf took note of the button's immense size, then stepped on it as well. It was just enough to push it in to get it to activate and reveal their only means of escape- a pipe behind the dreaded Chomp.

"Accidents can be useful!"

"Well, I sense a Chomp-destruction coming up," sighed Eggman as Bowser continued to try and upright himself, but he was stuck lying on his shell. Ganondorf caved in and helped him up, to which Bowser repaid with by spewing flames in the Chomp's direction. Ganondorf summoned more magic to attack it while Eggman fired his laser, but the lasers reflected off the Chomp's steal exterior and went haywire throughout the room.

"Holy-" Ganondorf cut off, a laser nearly singing his face. The Chomp charged at them again, but the chain binding it to the small post prevented any attacks. Bowser took an initiative, grabbed its chain, then chucked it to the other side of the room. Ganondorf threw a random block that was lying on the ground at it for added effect.

"Quick! Through the pipe before it tears us limb from limb!" cried the doctor, scrambling into the pipe.

"Right behind you!" called Bowser. The Chomp gathered itself together and, with its new freedom, made Ganondorf its next target. The Dark Lord of Evil sprinted into the pipe just before he had his entire leg chomped off.

**Team Mario-**

"After all that time thinking up some sort of plan, are we sure this'll work?"

Mario: No, but we'll do it anyway.

"All together now…JUMP!"

"DOGPILE!"

All four of them attempted to activate the switch by jumping onto it all at once…but it only resulted in Link body slamming the switch -which didn't move- and three people crashing on top of him.

"Ooh…that was _such _a fail…" Sonic groaned, luckily on top belly first. "That was our worst fail yet…"

"Think of how I feel!" gasped Link on the bottom. "Get off! OFF!"

Sonic rolled onto the floor, followed by Mario staggering dizzily to ground and Kirby sliding off like a pancake.

"We are definitely not as robust as Team BEG…" Sonic continued to moan. "I bet they could at least get the stupid switch to budge."

"It's not my fault I'm small, soft, cute, and pink!"

"It's not my fault I'm a totally fit and attractive hedgehog."

"And it _certainly_ isn't my fault I'm a studly, good-looking specimen of a man-"

"Don't flatter yourself too much," murmured Sonic.

Mario: Amen.

Link pouted and folded his arms disdainfully as Kirby suddenly picked up moaning and groaning back on the other side of the spikes. Peering over, he saw Team BEG emerge out of the pipe he couldn't get into.

"It's a miracle!" gaped Kirby. "Look, it's Team BEG!"

"Team BEG?" "How'd they get here?"

"That was so full of…pain…" lurched Bowser.

"You're the one that wanted to charge right on through!" Ganondorf snapped.

"HEY! Over here!" Link called, waving his arms up and down frantically. Eggman pushed himself up off the ground and saw Team Mario waving anxiously at them.

"The heck? How'd you get over there?"

"We came down through a hidden pipe behind the front door, found a path in 3D, found the password for two doors apparently, and now we're stuck over here and we can't free this Pixl without the help of Thudley so could you please send him over-"

"KIRBY! Take a breath!"

"Heeeeeeeeee- sorry."

"You sure are lucky we happened to come to your rescue then!" Bowser exclaimed smugly. Ganondorf rolled his eyes.

"We're only here because Bowser thought he was _so sure_ of the password to the door on the left, and we were sent through a trap room with a pipe that led here," Eggman explained. Bowser fumed at his own stupidity.

"Why in the world did I say 9000? …it was probably over 9000! I'm so dumb…"

"One-third of that statement is correct," mumbled Ganondorf.

"Hey, why isn't Team ZAP with you?" Link asked.

"They went through the right door, since we went through the left."

"They're somewhere ALONE?"

"Easy, it's not like they're unable to take care of themselves," shrugged Bowser.

"Looks who's talking, considering you kidnap them constantly- all three of you!"

"Just send Thudley over here so we can free this Pixl who most likely has a power than can get us back over there," Sonic sighed, holding his hand out. Bowser turned to Thudley, then nudged his head over in Team Mario's direction.

"Here I go- with girth!"

Thudley jetted over to Mario, who quickly accepted him into his possession. He jumped back onto the blue block, did a flip in the air, and with Thudley's power finally activated the switch. The bars trapping the Pixl slowly lifted up, said Pixl quickly flying out.

"FREEDOM!"

"Freedom rocks!" cried Thoreau.

"Freedom is the greatest thing ever!" Dashell agreed.

"Oh, finally I'm out! I didn't know what I was going to do! Thank you, thank you! I've been shut up in there forever…You'll never catch me in there again," she sighed.

"At least you had room to move around- we were all stuck in chests sss-BANG!" exclaimed Boomer.

"I must repay you! I'm at your service. I'm sure you can find a use for my talent!"

"You can get us over the spikes, right?" Kirby asked hopefully. The Pixl suddenly put on a blank face.

"Hold on a second. Before we get all friendly, we should see if we are on the same page."

"Ugh, come on!" growled Ganondorf.

"I don't want to wait all day!" Bowser roared as well.

"You met Francis right? What do you think of the guy? Your first impression?" the Pixl continued. Team Mario all exchanged glances and pondered over what to say, which irritated Team BEG to such an extent that they shouted out their own answers.

"Greenish?" "Nerdy." "Awesome!"

Bowser, Ganondorf, and the rest did a double take and gaped at Eggman.

"…what? His technology is somewhat impressive. Though it isn't comparable to mine."

"O-kay then…"

The Pixl nodded in response. "Ah, I see. I see. Anything else about him catch your eye?"

"He's a photo fanatic?" "He's into butterflies." "He's irresistible!"

"The heck Eggman? !"

"I'm trying to shake things up a little!"

"Awkward…"

"Oh? Yes, I see how you could think that," the Pixl stated, making Kirby faint. "So…sum it up. What do you think about him?"

"He's a monster?" "He's a tech geek." "He's a stallion!"

"Why are they even answering in the first place?" yelped Sonic, still taken slightly aback from Eggman's latest comment.

"You were too slow," Bowser replied, sticking out his tongue.

"So you think Francis is a…greenish nerdy awesome irresistible butterfly-loving photo fanatic? Basically, a monster of a geeky stallion?"

Mario: *sweat drops*

"Perhaps we should have thought our answers through…" chuckled Eggman nervously.

"You called him a_ stallion_ of all things!" howled Ganondorf.

However, despite their odd answers, Carrie seemed totally thrilled.

"Well…imagine that! You and I feel the same way about him! We've got great harmony. Yep, I think we'll work together perfectly. Together, nothing can touch us!"

Carrie circled around Mario exuberantly, until Kirby suddenly snatched her out of the air and used her ability.

"All right! We can go over the spikes while we ride Carrie!" Kirby cheered, already driving around like he was in a car. Carrie giggled.

"That is correct! I hope you make the most out of my ability!"

"How are all of you going to fit on one tiny square?" Eggman questioned.

"We could take turns-"

"But that'd take too long!" Ganondorf blared. Link instantly jumped on, feet placed on either side of Kirby.

"Then it looks like we're all going at once!"

"Am I the only one that senses disaster?" sighed Sonic, climbing onto Link 's back. "Hi ho!"

Mario sensed something bad as well on the horizon, but grabbed Link's wrists and balanced carefully on the edge of Carrie. She was plainly meant for only one person, let alone a whole team.

And it certainly didn't help that Kirby wanted to see how fast she could go.

"NO KIRBY-" Link wailed as Carrie suddenly tipped upward. Kirby may have had the advantage by having the edge to grip, but Mario and Sonic were gripping Link who lacked something to grip.

"Whee!"

"This could prove to be entertaining," smirked Ganondorf. "If only we had some popcorn."

"WAAAAH!" "Link, don't you dare fall!" "Kirby, slow down!" "This was a stupid idea!"

Mario: Mama mia!

"We're almost there- no worries!" Kirby said cheerfully, completely oblivious to the fact that Link, Sonic, and Mario were teetering on the edge of falling into the spikes.

"With me, you can get to places in a hurry!" Carrie explained.

"Not as fast as I can," boasted Dashell.

Link glared down at Carrie. "You're still not a car!"

"Fall!" "Crash!" "FALL!" cheered Team BEG. One tiny little problem- they weren't going to fall, but they were certainly going to crash…right into the bad guys.

"AUGH!" "WAH!" "OWA!" "OOMPH!" "HEY!" "YOW!" "GWARG! ! !"

It was an explosion of heroes, villains, and Pixls, but luckily all of them flipped over the pipe rather than back into the bed of spikes. Eggman didn't go very far and landed **on** the pipe, Ganondorf, Mario, and Sonic landed on the floor, and Bowser, Link, and Kirby slammed into the wall.

"Wow…" Kirby sang dizzily, sliding down the wall in an upside down position. "…_that was totally neat!_ Can we do it again?"

"No. Don't do it again…" hissed Ganondorf.

"It was fun!"

"It was _not_ fun-"

Carrie reverted back to her non-platform form and started laughing.

"I must agree- I haven't had that much fun in ages! It feels good to actually be able to do something again!"

"Speaking of doing something," Link huffed, picking himself up off the ground and grabbing his back. "We have to catch up with Team ZAP before they reach the pass code room and end up here and then there's this whole cycle of us doing the same thing over and over and not being able to catch up with each other."

"Well I've got the passcodes, so we're good," Sonic replied confidently.

"Great, that means we need to climb back up and make our way through the left door again…" realized Eggman with a shudder.

**Team ZAP-**

Peach, Zelda, and Amy frowned at the sight they had been staring at since they had entered the door- a large bed of spikes lie in their path.

"So much for 'we can handle this'…" Zelda sighed.

"I bet Team BEG is long gone now…" groaned Amy.

Peach folded her arms, the frown refusing to remove from her face. "Well this is great."

**Teams Mario and BEG-**

"Okay, what are you doing?' Link asked, bewildered by the sight of Ganondorf on Bowser's shoulders back in the first room beyond the large, double-key cat door (which Kirby had been just as in awe at as Amy was).

"What? This is how we got up here last time!" Bowser informed.

"What would you do without us?" sighed Sonic as Mario raised one hand, took control, and teleported into 3D. It was revealed that there was steps in 3D, making getting up there tons easier.

"Wow, I'm still in shock they even managed to get up there," whistled Kirby.

"The girls must have too," Sonic pointed out.

"I find it more likely the girls figured out what to do, then the villains tagged along," claimed Link. Mario shrugged- who knew?- and headed on up the steps. Once the four of them were in the upper area, they removed control and Team BEG popped up next to them.

"…okay, that was so much simpler!" cried Ganondorf. "Where were you when we needed you?"

"Getting the passcodes that you also need," retorted Sonic, opening the door and ushering everyone through quickly.

"So this is the area with the double doors…" Kirby sighed in awe, taking a look around.

"Yeah, the doors were hanging off the walls until I knocked 'em down," Bowser informed. "That left one is the one we entered, while the right is where Team ZAP is at."

"Should we go through the left one to get it over with or into the right one to follow the girls?"

"I vote right!" yelled Link.

"I want left!" called Ganondorf.

"Erm…should we split up again?" Sonic asked sheepishly. "The villains, Mario, and Kirby can go back through the left while Link and I go hunt down the girls faster. Plan?"

"Plan," replied Kirby.

Mario: Okay!

"Just remember- your code is 2828!" Sonic reminded them.

"I've got it memorized now," assured Eggman, waving his hand in a careless fashion. "And if you are asked any questions, the answer is always "true" to everything.

"Good to know," Link muttered back, vanishing through the right door with Sonic. Carrie giggled to herself and followed after Link- she simply had a hunch that she would be needed…

"You know, maybe Sonic should have gone through the left one," pondered Bowser, breaking the moment. "We could have sped right over the bridge!"

"Yeah, but he'll find the girls faster since he went right!" Kirby countered. "I hope they reach them before the girls are asked to give the passcode…"

Mario told Kirby not to worry, then allowed Bowser to lead the way.

**Team ZAP + Link and Sonic-**

Link and Sonic burst through the door at mach speed, minds so filled with thoughts of it nearly being too late for Team ZAP that they didn't take into consideration the possibility that they may have been standing in front of the door the whole time.

Therefore, the duo crashed into the trio and nearly knocked them into the spikes.

"WHAT THE-?" all five of them cried at the same time. Link reacted quickly and grabbed Peach and Zelda before they toppled over, Sonic doing the same and snagging Amy's wrist.

"Holy rings, that was way too close…" Sonic gagged, eyeing how close Amy was to the spikes.

"What is the meaning of this?" Peach demanded to know, glancing over her shoulder to give Link a questioning look.

"Long story short, you need our help to get through this area, all right?" Link explained briefly. "We-"

_"Ahem?"_

"Okay, Sonic found out that you're going to need a passcode when you reach the end, but apparently you were stuck anyway and there was no reason to panic…"

"Thank you for the near death experience- I've had enough of those lately," Zelda said gruffly, smoothing out her dress.

"Tell me about it! Death always seems to be around the corner-" Sonic started to ramble, until Link covered his mouth.

"Anyway, it seems to me that these spikes have you stumped?"

"Yeah! There's no way over them!" Amy said, pulling herself together. "Have any ideas?"

"We don't _just_ have an idea-"

"We have me!" cried Carrie, flying out of nowhere. Amy excitedly started jumping up and down.

"Ooh, how cool! A new Pixl!"

Carrie flew over to Amy after hearing her excitedly squeals.

"What can this one do?"

"Take you over spikes and stuff," Sonic replied simply.

Zelda nodded, bemused. "That's…nifty."

Link then turned fretfully to Sonic. "Erm…are we all going to try to fit on her again?"

"Why not? Besides, Kirby isn't driving this time!"

"Are you sure this is okay…" Peach trailed nervously, still staring fretfully at the spikes.

"We already tried it once, and we managed to get across, ever with a reckless driver!" Link assured. "We should be good this time around!"

Amy was already in position on Carrie, Sonic gripping one of her shoulders and pumping a fist into the air. Peach nervously made her way beside Amy, standing on one foot, while Link grabbed Sonic's other wrist and stood on Carrier the same way Mario had.

"I swear we do the impossible everyday…" sighed Zelda somewhat hesitant.

"Just latch onto me, Zelda," Link said, motioning for her to come on. "You won't fall, and if you do, I'd make sure you won't get hurt, okay?"

Zelda stared at the ground for a moment, then looked back and nodded. "Okay. I trust you."

Link grinned. "Now that's good to know."

Once Zelda had herself in a piggyback position on Link, Amy told Carrie to move onward. Despite the heavy load, Carrie didn't seem to have any trouble at all in getting them over the spikes and onto the other side in a jiffy.

"Why was that trip shorter than the first one?" Sonic asked as they all climbed off. "This one was all quick and painless…"

"Maybe the first one was longer so we could build dramatic effect?" Link shrugged. "I dunno, really- Amy, Carrie is not a car! That's exactly what I told Kirby!"

Amy, who was hovering around on Carrie having a blast, quickly braked to a stop. "Eh…sorry…but you've gotta admit she is pretty neat!"

"Not as good as me!" Dashell continued to boast. Amy jumped off Carrie so Carrie could float over to Dashell.

"You might be fast, but at least I can glide right over danger if I need to," she hummed contently, no malice visible in her tone. "Other than that, sure, you beat me in speed any day!"

Dashell blinked, then laughed nervously since he wasn't all too sure how to respond to that. Carrie just simply grinned. Boomer snickered silently to himself. Peach was certainly amused by the Pixls' actions, but continued onward nevertheless.

Unlike the leftmost door, the right door was apparently was lower in the terms of difficulty, since after the spike room was instantly the room with the creepy green Meowmaid. Zelda's jaw dropped.

"After all that waiting…if we had just had some way to get over the spikes…"

"Hey, that was actually a good thing," Sonic said. "If you hadn't waited, you wouldn't have had the passcode to get by this thing, now would ya?"

Zelda shook her head. "No, I guess we wouldn't…"

Link stepped up to the Meowmaid and, unsure of what to do, gave it a kick.

Peach rolled her eyes. "Does no one do anything carefully anymore?"

"Or think things through," Amy threw in, Carrie returning to her side.

"You have reached the door to Master's super-secret lair," the maid informed them. "Only Master is allowed inside. You must confirm your identity for security purposes. To confirm your identity, answer "true" or "false" to the following statements."

"Remember that Eggman said they were all true," Link recalled, Sonic stepping up to the maid and giving Link a thumbs up.

"Starship X-Naut" comics are never to be removed from their plastic sleeves!"

"True?"

"Role-playing games should be no less than 180 hours long, not counting side quests!"

"Psh, that's definitely true!"

"Fanny packs are both practical and stylish!"

"…true…"

"Please enter the secret passcode."

"2323," Sonic answered with pride. The maid hopped up and down excitedly.

"Welcome home, Master! Master's fantasy fortress is safe from intruders."

The wall in the background briefly changed to a green screen with a meowing cat face, then reverted back to normal- with the addition of a new door.

"Dang, Francis certainly pulled out a few stops for this place…" whistled Sonic.

"All this protection just for keys to him room!" exclaimed Zelda.

"It's like a nerd cave in here!" gawked Link, who had his head sticking through the door.

"Link, it's actually only an elevator," Peach pointed out as she and Amy carefully stepped in. Link sweat dropped from embarrassment.

"…w-well it probably leads to some sort of nerd cave!"

"That, I can agree with," the princess nodded. When they all reached the room that supposedly held the first key, they were only half-surprised to find several posters plastered to the walls, a ton of useless knickknacks on the shelves, and a huge but generally harmless bluish-grey Meowmaid pacing around.

"What. A. Dork."

"You said it."

"There's all sorts of girly pictures in here…and why does he have a poster of Bow and Bootler?" Link gawked once again, ripping said poster right off the wall. "I'm so taking this for Kirby…"

"He's got that Petuni girl you told us about too," Sonic added.

"Stop stealing his nerd-chandise and focus on finding the key!"

"Excuuuuuse me, Princess-"

Zelda gave him a look which was returned with an apologetic and pleading grin from Link.

"They key is up there…" Amy trailed, pointing to a nearly invisible shelf with a small chest sitting atop it.

"There's three ways to get that," Peach began, looking thoughtful. "We could toss Amy up there, use the freaky cat maid robot to jump off of, or-"

"All right!" Sonic interrupted as he wall jumped off the right wall and spin dashed toward the chest. He skidded a bit on his landing, but he was able to retrieve the key nevertheless.

"-that. That's the third option."

**Teams Mario and BEG-**

"…how in the world did you get to the top in this room?" questioned Kirby, in the first room after they entered the left door.

"We really have no idea, seriously."

"Well, let Mario and I take control…we'll figure something out…"

"Hmph, good luck," the trio of bad guys huffed back, all striking the same irritated arm-folded pose. Mario raised his arm, he and Kirby flipping into 3D, and finding a platform. They jumped onto it, then swapped back into 2D.

Problem.

"We need Team ZAP for this part…" Kirby trailed as he started at the other ledge that could only be reached by gliding. He then looked thoughtful. "Or do we…?"

He took Mario's hands, then inflated himself and hovered right over the small gap.

"I'm so smart!"

Mario smiled in amusement, then once they were safe on the other side swapped into 3D once again. Now Mario was even more puzzled about how Team BEG managed to get by the first time- there was no possible way up there without flipping into 3D or gliding! Bewildered, Mario and Kirby climbed to the top…where the Meowmaid was still going on a rampage.

"AAAH! AAAH!"

Kirby instantly panicked, sucking in the first meowbomb being thrown at them, then spat it right back. The Meowmaid was briefly stunned, giving the duo a chance to flipped into 3D one last time to get around it, then removed control and entered the next door.

"The great bridge- we meet again…" groaned Bowser.

"At least walking over it is faster than when it built itself," stated Eggman.

"Darn it! We should have totally brought Carrie…or Dashell," Kirby exhausted. Mario lead the way, crossing the bridge and ducking under flying Meowmaids whenever necessary. Finally when they reached the door on the other side, they returned to the room where Bowser, Eggman, and Ganondorf were dropped into the Chomp chamber.

"It's the creepy green Meowmaid that asks a bunch of questions!" gasped Kirby, cowering in fear.

"How do you know that?"

Kirby gave Eggman a look. "Hello? You told us!"

"…did we?"

"I don't even remember…" Bowser trailed.

"Just activate the stupid cat again…" grumbled Ganondorf. Mario walked up the robot and wave his hand in front of its face.

"You have reached the door to Master's private room," it explained. "For security purposes, you must confirm your identity. Answer the following security questions with either "true" or "false"."

Mario nodded and waited for it to state the questions again.

"Video game soundtracks are totally hi-technicaaaaaaal!"

Mario: So true!

"Episode 127 of "The Grodus Chronicles" is pretty much the schweetest thing ever."

Mario: True.

"One day, I will own all of the "Starship X-Naut" Series 3 collectible action figures."

Mario: True.

"Now you must enter the passcode."

"2828, if Sonic was correct," Eggman recited.

Bowser pouted in the corner. "That is so not over 9000..."

"Welcome home, Master! SecuriMeow missed you!" it suddenly chirped. Like in the other room, the back wall briefly turned into a green screen with a meowing cat face, and when it disappeared, a new door was now accessible. Kirby cheered and charged in, Mario and the villains exchanging glances and following after.

"Now this is a nerd cave," Bowser gaped. It was worse than the other room merchandise wise- plushies of Vivian, Yoshi Kids, Petuni, and even Pennington loitered the shelves! Not to mention the thousands of tapes with whatever nerd content they were filled with…

"ooh! There's a Yoshi Kid that looks like Spike!" Kirby cried, floating up to the nearly-invisible shelve with the chest on it. Kirby, oblivious to certain things as usual, ended up standing on the very chest that contained the key to try and reach the red Yoshi doll. "Sonic would love to see this!"

"Are your really going to steal a geek's treasure?" Ganondorf scoffed.

"Hey- who knows how much the stuff in this room could be worth!" Eggman defended.

"You would know."

Mario noticed the bluish-grey Meowmaid simply marching around- he was glad it wasn't attacking, but why was it even there? As Bowser tried to break up Ganondorf and Eggman once again, Mario jumped off the maid and was able to reach Kirby on the shield with the key.

"I got it! I got it!"

"You got the key?"

"No, I got this Spike plushie!"

Mario grabbed Kirby's wrist, placed him off to the side, then opened to chest and claimed the key.

Mario: I got a Fort Francis key!

What finally got the baddies to quit bickering was the sight of Kirby cuddling the little red Yoshi doll.

**The Double Door Hall-**

In an odd twist of fate, Mario, Kirby, Bowser, Eggman, and Ganondorf had exited out the left door the same time that Link, Sonic, Peach, Zelda, and Amy had exited their door. The two sides briefly started at each other before shouting out, "We've got one of the keys! …what? That means we've got them both!"

"I found a Spike plushie!" Kirby proclaimed, holding up the red Yoshi plush. Sonic was literally over to it in a second.

"It looks just like him! …kind of creepy that Francis had something like this in his fort."

"Yeah, like a whole bunch of posters," Link added, whipping out the one he had snatched. "…like this one with Lady Bow and Bootler on it-"

"GIMME!" Kirby exclaimed, tearing the poster out of Link's grasp. "Oh man, this is so going on my…bedroom…wall…that I don't have anymore…"

"What do you mean by that?" Zelda asked, tilting her head. Kirby clutched the poster tightly to his chest.

"M-My world was devoured by the Void…" he explained slowly. "…it was one of the first worlds to go…"

Before anyone could figure what to say after hearing that, to their relief, Kirby quickly comforted himself.

"Aw man! Now that I think about it, I should have grabbed that Vivian plushie!" he turned to Sonic, who hadn't exactly let go of the Spike doll. "You're totally lucky I was thinking of you first!"

"But hey, you've got your girlfriend on a poster," Sonic retorted brightly, trying to lighten up the atmosphere again. Slim hovered over Kirby's shoulder, trying to get a look.

"Is that lass Vivian?"

"Ha ha, no, that's Lady Bow- my girlfriend. The purple shadow doll with the red hat in the other room was Vivian…man I'm going to keep kicking myself! I totally want that now!"

Slim whistled. "That's one's a beaut, however. The shadow girl was right cute as well…"

Kirby was now blushing. "Yes they're both attractive- don't mention it, please!"

"I still can't believe there was a Pennington doll in that room as well…" Thoreau trailed. "By the sounds of it, you guys apparently knew him too!"

"I had to bunk in a room on a train with that guy!" Sonic exclaimed. He glanced down at the Spike plushie and grinned. "He had to endure that torture too…"

Dashell was darting around, trying to get a look at Sonic's possession from all angles. "Who is this, again?"

"Well, it's only a red Yoshi…but it looks like my Soul Partner Spike! I saved him from being turned into a hot dog while he was still in his egg!"

"What exactly could he do, anyway?"

"For being so small, the kid was tough- and fast," Sonic explained. "He was a combination of you and Carrie, sort of- he'd carry you and go fast at the same time! Not as fast as me, but it was still pretty impressive."

"Reminiscing is so emotional!" wailed Kirby, hugging the poster even tighter. "WAH!"

Amy, who was sitting on Carrie and listening intently, spoke up. "Wow, I wish I'd had the chance to get a partner like that…"

"I…had a weird connection with Goombella, if you remember," Zelda recalled. "But…I don't think it was strong enough…"

"What are we even talking about anyway- I'm confused!" Bowser shouted angrily.

"Don't hurt yourself in your confusion," murmured Link.

"…meh, it's nothing too important anyway," Sonic said, the Spike doll now sitting on his head. "We've gotta get back to the partners we've got now, even if they're only Pixls."

"You don't really like us, do you?" Boomer sighed sadly, too upset to do a "sss-BOOM" or anything of the sort.

"Why would we not like you?" Peach asked, walking over to Boomer and holding him in her hands.

"You talk so highly of these past partners…" Dashell trailed, for once in his long life not being in high spirits. "…are we not good enough?"

"Heck yeah you're good enough!" Sonic protested. "In fact, it's because of you guys that we can look back on some of the more good times we've had…"

"We've never had a good time," Team BEG chimed in unison.

"That's not our fault," Amy huffed in return.

"Think about it like this- if we didn't like you, would we bother to take you with us?" Link asked. "You're totally useful- plus each of you is unique…"

"Would we be striving so hard to save Tippi?" Peach questioned, which seemed to get everyone to recall just what they were here for anyway- besides the Pure Heart.

"I s'pose you wouldn't," Slim finally said, nodding.

"You wouldn't have wasted all that time trying to save me, either!" Carrie exclaimed.

"Well now that we have the two keys, how's about we go save another Pixl?" Zelda suggested lightheartedly.

"I can easily agree to that one," smirked Peach.

"I just wanna get the Pretty Heart or whatever it's called and get out of this nerd paradise…" Ganondorf sneered under his breath.

"So what're we waiting for?" Kirby asked, jumping onto Carrie with Amy. "Let's go!"

"Yeah!"

The two took off down the hall excitedly, heading back to the large cat door that was the only entrance into Francis' room, and Peach was not too far behind them.

Unlock the door, enter the room, get back Tippi.

Mario wondered if it was as easy as it sounded.

* * *

**We'll see, Mario...because next weekend we've got ourselves a boss! 8)**


	22. Francis: Revenge of the NERD!

Super Paper Mario X

Chapter 21: Francis- Revenge of the NERD!

Once they were all gathered at the front of the door, Mario and Sonic took out the keys they collected (Sonic still with the Spike doll sitting oddly on his head) and simultaneously placed them into both keyholes. Peach seemed to be the most anxious to get the door open.

"Oooh…"

"MEOW! Both keys confirmed. Meow!" the door suddenly glanced down at Mario, Sonic, and Team BEG who were standing not too far off to the side. "Wait a meow moment. You look nothing like Master! Only Master Francis and "totally hot babes" are allowed to enter. All others will get the kitty lasers!"

"…did the door just mention lasers-"

"OH SNAP! AAAH! AUGH!"

"NOT THE KITTY LASERS!"

Mario and Sonic literally back flipped away from the orange lasers that suddenly jetted out of the door's cat eyes, Bowser, Eggman, and Ganondorf getting caught in the blasts and beginning to run around screaming with smoke emitting off of them.

"Kitty lasers?" guffawed Sonic, putting his Spike doll away for safe keeping.

"Glad I wasn't caught in those things- they would have burned my poster!" Kirby exclaimed.

"It burned my tail!" "It burned my armor!" "It burned my magnificent mustache!"

"Eh, Mario's is better anyway," Sonic told Eggman, Mario sticking up his nose for added effect. Eggman narrowed his eyes while trying to put out the flames in his facial hair.

"Any plans on how to get in there?" Bowser asked while scooting his butt along the floor. "My poor tail…"

"It did say something about "totally hot babes" being able to enter besides Francis himself…" Link trailed thoughtfully. There was a brief moment of silence before Teams Mario and BEG turned slyly to the girls.

"Oh no!" Amy yelled, eye twitching. "You better not be thinking what I think you're thinking!"

"We may be totally hot, but we are not going in there just to suffice the universe's biggest nerd," Zelda declared stubbornly. Link slid over to her and draped an arm around her shoulders.

"Aw come on! Not even a door could say no to your gorgeous face!"

"Well I'm saying no to the door!"

"Please?"

"No."

"Zelda…"

"No."

Sonic blinked, then turned to Amy. "Wouldja do it for me?"

Amy readied her hammer and positioned herself in front of the door. "You're probably just using me, but yeah I'll do it for you! Bring it on!"

Sonic sighed and put his face in his hand while Peach stepped up next to Amy.

"I'll do it for Tippi…"

Mario gave her an encouraging look, while made her smile and gain a bit of confidence. Now all eyes were on Zelda, who still had her arms folded and constantly denying Link.

"At least do it because Peach and Amy are- what do you have to lose?" Kirby put out.

"My dignity."

Ganondorf was grabbing his arm where the laser had signed him and was glaring into space. "Just go so we can get out of here. The dweeb has beefed up security, and I don't like it."

"Plus I'd like to leave before he realizes we're stealing stuff from him," Kirby added. "Luckily he has mint condition duplicates! Ooh, speaking of, while they get Tippi back, I'mma go get that Vivian plushie after all. Amy, lend me Carrie."

"Um, okay…" Amy said, sending Carrie in Kirby direction. Carrie transformed into platform mode during the short trip over, Kirby quickly jumped on and taking off.

"…I wonder why he still wants that Vivian plushie so bad," Sonic pondered "I'm justified with my Spike though."

"It's Vivian! How could you not want one?" Link chucked. "But seriously, Zelda…"

Zelda's eyes darted around to everyone giving her pleading looks (except the villain's looks were more threatening than pleading) before she finally sagged, sighed, and caved in.

"Okay…there's no way around it is there?"

"There we go," Link stated, giving Zelda a hug. "Good luck in there!"

"You'll be fine, no worries!" added Sonic, giving a thumbs up and a wink.

"I hope you're right."

"Here- take Boomer just in case…" Link trailed, giving the Pixl to Zelda. "He'll be like your emergency self-destruct button in case something goes wrong!"

"I'll be glad to help if needed sss-BOOM!"

"Maybe I shouldn't have given Kirby Carrie…" Amy mused as she and Peach made room for Zelda, then knocked on the door once again. The guys all ducked for cover in case the lasers were bound to spew out again- they did not want to be in the line of fire. The cat-door came to life again and glanced down at the girls.

"Only Master Francis and "totally hot babes" are allowed to enter. …you can enter. After I check to see that you're compatible with Master Francis, that it. Please answer the following with "true" or "false"…meow!"

The girls exchanged looks. "Uh oh."

"Answer true! ANSWER TRUE!" shouted Eggman in an attempted inconspicuous fashion from behind one of the Meowmaids.

"What are we getting ourselves into?" groaned Zelda.

"Video games and hot babes are totally hi-technicaaaaal!"

Peach: Erm…True?

Eggman nodded and gave them a thumbs up, then stopped because it reminded him too much of Sonic.

"If it's limited edition, buy it!"

Amy: Definitely true!

"I have bought games I have never played."

Zelda: *faint* …true.

"If it's got fierce giant robot on giant robot combat, it's an insta-buy!"

Eggman: True! *shot*

"They're NOT DOLLS. They're ACTION FIGURES, WITH REAL FIRE PUNCHING ACTION!"

Peach: True…? *sweatdrops*

"I have dumped a friend over an argument about "Starship X-Naut" propulsion technology."

Amy: True?

Link: How sad.

"A schweet cover illustration is way more important than the story line."

Zelda: True.

Sonic: That is most certainly not true! *shot*

"Never pull the top copy from a pile of comics! Find the mint-condition one!"

Peach: Okay, that one I can probably agree with. True.

"My first love was an anime character!"

Amy: *pure struggle and hesitation* Gack…True… lies!

Mario/Sonic: *face palm*

"I love going on message boards and complaining about the games I've never played."

Zelda: True.

Ganondorf: Wow.

"MRRRROW!"

The door allowed Peach, Zelda, and Amy to pass. They gave one last look to the guys, who wearing grins and cheering them on. Thinking of Tippi, Peach boldly entered, Zelda and Amy trailing behind.

"…now that the door's open, I wonder if we should follow?" pondered Link.

"Are you kidding? I don't want to get zapped by a kitty laser!" Sonic yelped.

"I'm with the hedgehog, I don't feel like taking the chance again…" Eggman nodded, rubbing his mustache where it had been burned.

"…we could do what Mario's doing," Ganondorf suggested.

Mario was peering intensely into the keyhole at what was about to take place.

. . .

"Nerr! Who are YOU?" Francis' nasally nerdy voice squawked out the very moment Team ZAP entered his (pink) room. "H-Hey! What are you doing sneaking into my room, huh? Ever heard of p-privacy?"

"There you are Francis! We've been looking ALL OVER for you!" Peach suddenly cried, intended to intimidate the nerd. Amy and Zelda's angry looks should've added on to the threat factor. However, Francis was having other thoughts.

"FOR…ME?"

Team ZAP: ?

Francis instantly started sweating uncontrollably and started to work himself up. "O-O-Oh…O-Oh my gosh…it's…it's a group of hot babes! HOT BABES IN ROOM!"

Amy grabbed Peach's arm. "I'm scared."

Zelda was twitching. "I think I am too."

Peach watched with a gaping mouth and widened eyes as Francis continued his overload.

"Wha-what do I do…Oh man…REAL girls in my room! This is so hi-technicaaaaaal! N-neeeeeeeerrrrrr…Must…ca-ca-calm…calm down…I'm get-get-get-get…getting way too excited….sweatles…forming…Can't talk to…girls…Must…get…my…laptop…from…Frannypack…"

. . .

The guys watching through the keyhole weren't sure whether to find it scary, amusing, or downright embarrassing and pitiful.

"If they make it out of this alive they're so going to kick our butts for talking them into going in there."

. . .

"Booting up ! Activating Nerr2Babe interface with real time wooing!"

"What's going-"

A curtain suddenly fell, and when it came back up, Francis has ceased freaking out and was much more composed…and they were in some sort of computer simulation.

Francis: "Welcome to my castle, how do you do? …Nerr."

Peach: "What on earth is that? What's going on here!"

Francis: "Nerrherr…I boot this baby up whenever it's time to talk to the…heh….laaaadies."

Zelda: "Get me out of here. GET ME OUT!"

Francis: "Schweeet. Time for my to work it's magic!"

. . .

"It would probably be a bad time to start laughing at them, huh?" Sonic said while stifling laughter.

"I'mma do it anyway! Grah ha ha ha ha!" Bowser cackled. "Hey wait a sec…that reptile is trying to woo my wife! LET ME THROUGH!"

"She's not your wife!"

. . .

Francis: (Where should I start?)

He shifted through the menu, choosing "Speak" then picking "Talk to Hot Babes"- as opposed to talking to himself or whoever Francine was.

Francis: "What are your names?"

All: "Our…names?"

Peach decided to play it nice- perhaps something good would come out of it if she played along.

Peach: "Oh, me? I…I'm Peach."

Francis: Peach? Why, that name is just peachy. Heh! I bet you've never heard that one! Oh...I'm just drooling at the sound of it...

[You received a straight answer. Francis's passion leveled up!]

Amy didn't want to be too nice or too mean, so she made an attempt to stay neutralized.

Amy: "Tell me your name first!"

However, Amy was ignored thanks to Zelda. Her responses were not going to be kind to that freak whatsoever, which definitely caught Francis' attention.

Zelda: "You can call me…annoyed. Sorry buddy, I'm not telling my name to a geek like you."

Francis: "Whoa! What an ice queen! She's…so cold! I'm shocked!" (Oh man, she's so hard to get! But…that's pretty hot too.)

[Francis reveals in new feelings of attraction. Francis' passion leveled up!]

Francis: Oh, man... What do I do next?

He brought up the menu again, this time choosing "Look", and then "Hot babes".

Francis: "You're so cute...like princesses straight out of an anime or video game! You can be feisty, but I must say it...umm...adds to your charm."

Peach: "You think I'm...charming? Am I really cute? Tee hee."

Amy: "You're making me blush! You're quite the sweet talker, Francis."

Francis: "Aww, gee…th-thanks…"

Amy: "…I bet you say those things to all the girls, don't you?"

Francis: "Oh no, not at all! You three…are the first!…at least, the first ones that weren't AI controlled…"

[Francis' ego leveled up!]

Zelda: "You want feisty? I'll show you feisty! Lay it on thick like that, and you'll get it!"

Francis: "Eep! I'm so sorry! I don't know what I was thinking! Oh...forgive me, my queen!"

Zelda: "I-I'm NOT a queen, I'm a princess!"

Francis: (Nerr herr... She's supercute when she gets angry...)

[Francis got yelled at! Zelda's charisma leveled up! Francis's passion leveled up!]

Francis: (What's my next move?)

Once again turning to the menu before he lost the girls' attention, he opened his inventory. He chose "Give item", then selected """Pink Princess" Signed Poster".

Francis: "As a token of my affection, I'd like to give you a special present."

Peach received the "Pink Princess" Signed Poster. She actually kind of liked it, to tell the truth. Amy smiled at the kind thought while Zelda rolled her eyes.

Zelda: "This junk won't win me over. Are you trying to impress us with this stupid thing? You've got to be kidding!"

Amy: "I appreciate the thought…"

Peach: "Oh, thank you! It's gorgeous!"

Francis: "You really like it? I knew a hottie like you would pick up on how premium this poster is. I got this baby at a totally hi-technical 'Pink Princess' anime event. I was going to get a CD, but I freaked when I saw this super-rare poster! The voice actor for the princess AND the director signed it, as you can see. As I'm quite sure you know, the director changed after season three, so it's rare. Plus, look here! The logo was done in extra-premium gold holographic foil! And the paper, oh man, it's UV resistant! So you never have to worry about fading. I could stick it on some backing board for you. How's that sound?"

Zelda and Amy: *twitch*

Peach: Umm... Yeah. Sounds...great? (What is he talking about? !)

Francis: O-OK, you got it. Let me just take this guy back for a few minutes then, OK?

[Peach returned the poster. Francis's satisfaction leveled up! Francis's passion leveled up!]

Francis: (Nerrr... What's my next move?)

He choose "Think", then "About the future".

Francis: Wow, we are like, so perfect for each other. It's destiny! We should get married!

Peach: "M-Married? !"

Zelda: "Hey! Who's picking these responses for us, anyway? ! "

Amy: "I'm not marrying this dork! We shouldn't even be having this conversation!"

Peach: "I came to save Tippi! Where is she? !"

Francis: "Tippi? Hmm... Tippi... Tippi...There's no Tippi command in here! What is she talking about?"

Peach: "That's it! You'd better bring her out right now!"

Zelda searched through her own menu, choosing "Pixls" then selecting "Boomer". She smirked sinisterly, then detonated the bomb Pixl. Francis screamed bloody murder.

"NOOOOO! MY GRAPHICS CARD!"

. . .

"About freakin' time!"

"Pwned!"

"EXPLOSION!"

"Ooh, Francis is gonna be soooo mad…"

. . .

Francis got up off the floor, staring up into the faces of a smirking Peach, a still somewhat-frightened Amy, and a sinister-looking Zelda. He started to cry.

"That was the only known copy of the Nerr2Babe patch, and now it's gone forever! Nerrr…real babes are scary!"

"Peach…?" a quiet voice called out, belonging to none other than Tippi in the cage. Peach leaned to the side to see past Francis, and sure enough, there was Tippi. She excitedly stepped closer and happily clasped her hands together.

"Tippi! Oh, I was so worried!" she exclaimed. Tippi was awestruck.

"You…You came to save me?"

Before Peach could respond, Francis finally caught on to what was _really_ going on.

"So…so you've come to raid my fort and steal Francine?" he screeched.

"Oh snap- he found out about the raiding!" cried Link from the other side of the door.

"Shhh!"

"W-Well…no. I won't let you." he turned to Tippi and smiled warmly at her. "B-By the way, I came up with the name Francine on my own! Isn't it Schweet?"

"It's a feminine version of his own name," Amy murmured.

"At first, I thought it was a little weird that you could talk and everything. But the forum reaction convinced me you were hi-technicaaaaaal! You're my only…sniff…offline friend, Francine…so no one will ever take you away from me!"

"Eek!"

"Tippi, NO!" Peach yelled, darting forward but it was too late. The floor beneath Tippi's cage opened and she was lowered instantly. With Tippi out of sight, Francis went invisible as well.

"Nerr! Can't see me? That's 'cause my invisibility powers are totally hi-technicaaaaaal! Little Francine is hidden, so you can't take her! Feel the wrath of the jilted X-Naut in the season finale of "The Grodus Chronicles"!"

"Was that butterfly really the Pixl you told me about?" Zelda asked a fuming Peach, who was practically steaming with anger and her hands balled up into tight fists. Peach could only nod without lashing out into anger. "In that case we're giving this dweeb a beat down!"

"We can't attack if we can't see him though…" Amy trailed.

"I don't care- we're getting Tippi back whether he likes it or-AUGH!"

Francis appeared for a brief moment, attacking by snapping a photo with a very intense flash, blinding the girls momentarily. He was gone again.

. . .

"Hey guys, I'm back!" Kirby called, returning on Carrie with a Vivian doll in his lap. "Did we get Tippi back yet?"

"Nope, the girls just blew up his "suave simulator" and I think they're in a battle now," Link recapped.

"I'm placing bets on Zelda getting the last blow- anyone with me?" Eggman wagered. Bowser shook his head.

"Are you kidding- Peach is mad right now! She's bound to dish out some damage!"

"Dude, you'd always cheer for Peach-"

"I'll bet Amy then," Ganondorf said casually as Bowser blew a raspberry in Eggman's direction.

. . .

"DIN'S FIRE!" Zelda shouted as soon as Francis reappeared. There was no way he was getting away this time around. The dome of fire effectively scorched the reptile, with Amy swooping in afterwards and hitting him on the head.

"OW! Pain…"

And Francis vanished again.

"What a coward- hiding like this!" Zelda accused. "It's going to be pretty sad when three girls beat some nerd senseless…"

"MEOWBOMBS!"

"The heck?"

"Meowbombs!" cried Amy, curling up into defense mode. Three ticking meowbombs digitally appeared from nowhere, set to the blow them up like they had blown up the Nerr2Babe patch. Peach ducked under her umbrella while Zelda summoned Nayru's Love, and the three of them were protected from any damage. When they went back on the offensive, Francis reappeared.

"NYEAH!"

His tongue snapped right out of his mouth, grabbing Peach and pulling her in to swallow her whole. Zelda and Amy were horrified.

"We'll help you Peach!" Amy shouted, latching herself onto Francis' back and punching him several times.

"Spit her out you freak!" Zelda cried, giving a sharp kick to Francis' stomach.

. . .

The spectators watching all recoiled.

"She certainly packs a wallop…" cringed Sonic.

"I felt that one…" gaped Ganondorf.

"I'm so glad that wasn't me…" Link winced.

. . .

Peach went flying out, skidding onto the floor and tumbling into the wall. Francis was dancing around, grabbing his abdomen and howling in discomfort.

"Ugh…"

Francis tried to hide himself again, but Zelda blew him into the opposite wall with Farore's Wind then ran over to help Peach while Amy kept him occupied.

"You alright Peach?" Zelda. Peach pushed herself off the ground and nodded.

"I suppose…he's a bit tougher than he looks…"

"He's just annoying, that's all. With his nerdy tactics…"

"It would be so much easier to fight him if I had Carrie!" Amy complained, running up and down the room to either avoid Francis or try to locate him- it was hard to tell which. Peach, now completely up righted, glared at wherever Francis was lurking in the room.

"If Tippi was free I could use her power to easily locate him…"

Peach then watched as Amy and Zelda continued their barrages of attacks, a few bursts of magic here and a couple weapon smacks there. What could Peach do besides simply jump on him, which the impossibility of that increased with the fact Francis himself was already hard to pinpoint?

"What good can I do?"

Francis whipped out another camera flash, getting Zelda and Amy to back off, then trampled around the room again. Peach randomly placed Boomer on the ground, and luckily it happened to be where Francis showed up again, so she snapped her fingers and detonated him, causing damage to Francis' foot.

"YOWCH!"

Peach suddenly perked up a bit as Zelda and Amy returned to their battle stances, ready to attack when necessary. All three of them were getting sick and tired of Francis' little disappearing act, and they were going to end thing this as quick as possible. When Francis showed up on the right of the room. Zelda would lash out with Din's Fire, or stun him with Farore's Wind. He made most of his attacks when he showed up in the middle of the room where Amy was at. She hardly got to attack since Francis usually snapped a photo and prevented sight. But Peach made up for it whenever he appeared around the door- she'd do her best to jump up and hit him over the head with her parasol.

"He doesn't know when to give up!" Peach complained, seeing Francis whip out his laptop.

Amy started smacking Meowbombs as Francis brought them to life, sending them right back at him. "Get away from me!"

Francis started cowering in fear. "AUGH! I never knew real babes could be so tough too! NERRR!"

"Quit calling us babes!" Zelda demanded, sending another round of fire in his direction.

"Keep wailing on him- he won't last much longer!" Amy cried as she bashed into him once again. Francis nearly stumbled over his own two feet while scrambling to get away! He snapped out his tongue again, hoping to swallow another unlucky target.

"GORK! Hey, you can't do that!" Francis supposedly said, but it was hard to tell since he couldn't move his tongue.

"What's wrong?" Peach asked, gripping his tongue in her hand while making a mental note to wash her gloves later. "Princess got your tongue?"

She felt a sudden adrenaline rush flow through her- she was in control! Peach, using this to her advantage, violently yanked Francis' tongue down and brought her fist up into Francis' face. Apparently Peach's fist packed more of a punch than Zelda's kick, because Francis nearly doubled over. Zelda and Amy gaped at Peach's sudden aggressiveness. Completely stunned by the unexpected attack, Francis instantly gave up the battle and ran right out the door screaming, "MERCY!"

He bulldozed right through Mario, Link, Kirby, Sonic, Bowser, Eggman, and Ganondorf and bolted down the hallway with his newly acquired blackeye. All seven of them exchanged looks before poking their heads in. Amy and Zelda were still slightly shocked, Peach just in disbelief that she even thought of doing such a thing, let alone pulling it off!

"Erm…everything okay in here?" Sonic asked. "We just got stampeded by a nerd, so-"

"Peach punched him in the face!" Zelda and Amy cried instantaneously. The seven newcomers all turned to Peach who was staring at the ground.

"I-I dunno what happened…"

"Well whatever you did, it freed Tippi!" Kirby cried. Peach instantly perked up and ran forward.

"Really?"

Tippi emerged from wherever Francis had hidden her, the cage removing itself and finally freeing the rainbow butterfly. Awestruck, Tippi floated in front of Mario and Peach, both who seemed to be the gladdest to have her back.

"You…you guys came to save me…"

Mario: Oh yeah!

"Of course we did," Peach replied softly, coming down from her energetic high. "I'd hate myself if anything happened to you!"

Tippi was speechless for a long time before whispering, "Thank you…"

To everyone's surprise, Tippi suddenly became animated right before their very eyes- it was as if her whole outlook had brightened considerably.

"Thank you so much! I'm so happy…"

"What…is THAT?" Bowser guffawed as Tippi suddenly started radiating a rainbow of colors, more so than before.

"This is new…" trailed Sonic.

"What's going with Tippi?" asked Zelda. Everyone continued to watch as the fourth Pure Heart, colored a vibrant green, produced itself out of thin air, though Mario sworn it came from Tippi herself.

"The Pure Heart?" Tippi gasped. "But…how…?"

Peach tried to make sense of the situation, "It's like Tippi's heart just burst with happiness and released a Pure Heart! Or…"

"Mario, Peach, all of you…I was just so happy when I saw that you'd come to save me. Please…take it."

"It's so pretty…" Zelda breathed.

"It is a bit breathtaking, I will say," added Eggman.

"It's incredible!" cried the Pixls, all flying towards it and doing their usual dance. The green Pure Heart floated down into Mario's grasp. He could feel its purity and its warm, and it filled him with a good feeling. The whole scene that had taken place before them still had him a bit rattled, but when Peach placed a delicate hand on his shoulder and smiled just as brightly as the Pure Heart, he knew it was a sign he'd be okay.

And now that Tippi was back with them, it was bound to get better.

. . .

The fourth Pure Heart appeared in a dazzling flash of mysterious light. What made it appear? The group was puzzled by this and many other riddles.

"…So you're not hurt?" asked Tippi, full of concern.

Somehow, Tippi seemed different than before. She had started to change. Mario simply shook his head and started the long journey back to Flipside…

* * *

**That's why you don't swallow Peach, Francis. And next chapter we have the interlude! But what's so exciting about Count Bleck spewing out a bunch of boring plans? Hm, who knows? ;)**


	23. Sending Them

Super Paper Mario X

Chapter 22: Sending "Them"

"…and that is how the ruffians managed to best me." Dimentio finished, wrapping up the tale of his encounter with the group at the Dotwood Tree. "Ah ha ha. They are strong, to be sure…very strong. Even when I put their friend in danger they didn't seem to crumble all too much. Dare I say…They might be strong enough to defy the prophecy!"

Count Bleck placed a hand to his chin. "Spare Count Bleck the theatrics. The Light Prognosticus is false. The Dark Prognosticus holds the answer to eliminating heroes that rise to stop us."

Dimentio was now even more intrigued. "Oh my. That's the first time that morsel of information has touched my ears. Do tell!"

"Bleh heh heh heh…in due time, Dimentio. In due time." Count Bleck then turned to his most trusted assistant. "Oh, Nastasia? It's time we sent "him" on these pests."

"Don'tcha mean…"them"?" Nastasia replied, adjusting her glasses. Count Bleck raised an eyebrow.

"Ahem, "them"?"

"Yes sir…there was just "him", but now we've got three…and if things go as planned, we should have five total new minions under our belts."

"Where exactly is "he" now, Nastasia?"

"He's with the two we've already claimed in the repair area…getting ready. Yeah, um, I'll take care of things from here for you, Count…"

"Lovely, exclaimed Count Bleck. Return to your posts, my dear minions."

"As you command, Count! HAIL BLECK!" chimed Mimi, O'Chunks, and Dimentio, dispersing in their generic ways and leaving Nastasia and the Count alone. Nastasia hung her head and whispered something under her breath.

"Does something trouble you, Nastasia?"

"Yeah, Count…you know, there's still time…you can still change your mind."

"That is enough, Nastasia. We've already come this far, so we shall forge on! But you needn't stay by Count Bleck's side. You can depart with my blessing."

Nastasia looked up at the Count like he was crazy. "Um, no, my Count. I won't be doing that. My life is already sworn to you. Yeah, it's belonged to you since the day you saved me…I'll be sticking it out with you until my game ends, K?"

"If that pleases you…"

Count Bleck teleported away, Nastasia jumping off her platform to take care of other business…

"My my my! How interesting! Nastasia and the count have such DEEP conversations!" Dimentio exclaimed, returning to the room once they were gone. "Mm…just what is our dear count playing at? Ah, well. I'll let him worry about that. I must attend to my own…_projects."_

And he vanished again.

. . .

Nastasia entered a room at the back of the castle, where a single figure was staring into the darkness. She folded her arms and tapped her foot impatiently.

"Hey, minion. The Count is sending you out to dispatch the Heroes, K? So you might want to get a move on now."

"Ah, the Count finally requires my talent? About time!"

Nastasia raised an eyebrow as a second figure jumped out of the sky and landed before her.

"We're just putting the finishing touches on my creation which will surely trounce those-"

"I believe she was talking to _me," _scowled the first figure, still not turning away from his intent stare. The second just scoffed.

"Who cares? All reports are meant to go to _me!"_

"I was here first!"

"You were," Nastasia admitted, adjusting her glasses. "…but the Man in Green has higher authority, I'm afraid."

The second figure snickered to himself while the first one whirled around and glared.

"Are you kidding me? You're making me work _under_ an underling just because _he's wearing green?_"

"Heh heh heh-"

"I don't mind working for him."

All three of them turned to the new comer- this one being a teenage female in a black dress, black gloves, black boots, a black mask, and the only hint of color on her being the large yellow collar and her long orange hair pulled back into a high ponytail. She jumped down from higher up as well and started walking up to the trio.

"Besides," she continued, folding her arms and sticking up her nose snobbishly. "It's completely obvious that he's beneficial to making Count Bleck's plans a complete success, no? Without him, Bleck would be nothing!"

Nastasia made a face. "You speak too much, girl."

"I just speak the truth."

"You only speak so highly of him because you have feelings for him," huffed the first figure, getting increasingly angrier.

"He's certainly much more of a catch than you are, so you have no place to talk!"

The second just chuckled and twirled his finger through his facial hair. "Ah, it has to be the 'stache luring you…"

"Maybe. Who knows."

"Ugh…"

Nastasia brought a palm to her forehead and spun around on her heel. "Just trace the heroes to which dimension they're going to next and plan a…surprise…for them. Then beat them to a pulp and hopefully put them out of commission."

"Heh heh heh…no doubt we'll take care of them." The man in green with the "alluring mustache" turned to the girl. "You did finish up with my brother, did you not?"

"I did the best to my ability, but my knowledge with mechanics isn't as vast as yours…" she sighed.

"Your brother is incomplete," the first figured sighed. The girl scowled.

"Shut up, you creepy weirdo!"

"Creepy weirdo? Is that the best insult you can make for the Navy Nightmare-"

"Oh yeah, that reminds me," Nastasia recalled, glaring at the "Navy Nightmare". "Before you leave, I want you to track down those two free-minders still romping about the castle…we can't have that, K?"

"My apologies, it slipped my mind thanks to the "oh-so-important" Man in Green's orders that you placed me under," the Nightmare hissed acidly. He wrapped up in his cape, continuing to watch the world through narrowed eyes. "…but I'll take care of it, personally."

"Meh, don't waste your time- everyone's screwed in the end anyway," shrugged the girl. "What'll we get out of removing two stowaways? We'll just be killing them before the Void does them in…"

"One of them is a mechanical genius while the other is so strong he can create earthquakes by simply punching the ground," the Man in Green said flatly. "Perhaps if we, how you say, lure them in, they can be of use…"

"How do you know that?" snapped the Navy Nightmare. The Man in Green glanced down at the floor.

"…I just do. It's a subconscious feeling that I have, and I don't know why…" he then snapped his head back up and put on a confident face. "But it's not a surprise, really. It's only natural that I have prior knowledge of the enemy!"

Nastasia rolled her eyes and exited the room. "You know what you are to do now…"

The three watched her walk away into the darkness, then the girl turned back to the green clad man.

"We going to go after the punks, Chief?"

He grinned sinisterly, took her hand, and led the way. "But of course, my dear…"

The remaining member glowered as the duo started off, then lifted his right hand and glanced at the watch.

"I must've had some connection with them before if we all had access to such technology…but I'll never know now." He hit a few buttons and took off from the ground, gliding over their heads and preparing to lead the way. "Time to find some unfortunate souls…"

. . .

"We're screwed, Tails. Absolutely screwed," sighed Knuckles, leaning against a wall somewhere in Castle Bleck while Tails' mind was racing. "I still don't understand how you set the coordinates for the center of dimensions, but we ended up in the Void…"

"I don't understand myself, Knuckles," Tails replied, staring hesitantly at his watch. "Meta Knight's going to be coming after us soon, I can feel it…I'm afraid to turn my watch on all the way, because it'll make it easier for us to be tracked…but if I don't, then I can't pinpoint where Meta Knight is."

He kicked a wall in frustration, fighting the urge to go into a fetal position. Knuckles had pretty much declared their situation hopeless- they were bound to be caught, they were bound to suffer the same fate as their friends, and in the end, they'd probably be a part of the reason why every world would end. Tails was scared out of his mind, though still minutely searching for one small piece of hope to cling onto.

"…I don't know what to do, Knuckles…" he blubbered, hiding his face in a corner. "I've lead us both to our doom, probably…"

"Don't put it like that-"

"But it's true! We didn't even attempt to help when Luigi and Malon were getting brainwashed…"

"We helped by not helping," Knuckles protested. "And because we didn't help, we can go find help…c'mon Tails! You're the one that supposed to be encouraging me like this, not the other way around!"

"Where can we get help from? We don't know where anyone's at, and all my watches have done are hurt more than help…"

Knuckles folded his arms and stared at Tails. "C'mon now. What would Sonic do at a time like this? Don't compare yourself to me either, cuz I know you would say "run home to the Master Emerald" or something."

Tails sighed louder. "He wouldn't give up…and neither would Luigi. Luigi would keep on trying, even if he knew he was doomed…the problem here is that I don't know where to go from here…"

"Unless you want to sit here and wait for them to find us, we should at least attempt to get out of the castle," Knuckles replied gruffly. "We're probably making it easier for them just by not moving."

Tails finally removed himself from the corner and flew just above Knuckles' head. "I guess you're right…we'll find a way out of here then…I guess we could find the others-"

"Tails, WAIT!"

"Huh?"

Knuckles suddenly tackled Tails out of the air, safely getting him out of the way of a sharpened arrow tearing through the air. Dark figures began to shift about the room, neither of them unable to identify what had attacked them. Unless…

Tails' watch suddenly crackled to life, and both Tails and Knuckles blanched at the thought of who could possibly be contacting them. Shakily, Tails reached for the "accept call" button, barely brushing his fingers against the button when he pushed it.

_"Gotcha."_

"Holy rings, they've found us! We waiting too long!" Knuckles yelled. Tails was about to start up on how it was his fault they were caught, but Knuckles snagged his wrist and took off bolting. "We're getting out of here for sure this time!"

"You're not going anywhere…" a sinister female voice hissed, firing the bow again. Knuckles yelped as he ducked under the projectile. The door…the door was just over there! How Knuckles wished he was somewhat faster…

"We've got you surrounded," a much deeper, and much darker, voice thundered, swooping over Knuckles' head and practically forcing him to a stop. "There is no running away. There is no escape."

"Oh yeah?" Knuckles dared. "We'll take you on!"

"Heh heh heh…you might not want to do that…"

The third voice was as dark as the second and as piercing as the first, meaning it was the ultimate combo of frightening. Tails was back to back against Knuckles, meaning he couldn't see the newcomer, but he was facing the female of the group and could see the flying one out of the corner of his eye. He could sense the girl begin to take aim, arrow directed right at his chest. However, before she fired, the third one held up a hand.

"Don't kill them when they could be useful, my Lady…"

Tails noticed she quickly lowered the bow, nodding slowly. The second figure descended from the air, standing off to the side and prepared to attack any of them. The tense atmosphere of the room was heightened by the face they were in front of a single window, the dimmest light flooding in and only casting a light sheen on the people inside. To Tails, only seeing small glimpses of your attackers was nerve-racking.

"You two go for the tough one, I'll take care of the weaker one…" the third one ordered. He was apparently in charge. With a simple snap of his fingers, the smaller male figure rushed up to Knuckles and knocked him down with a well-placed ram to the knees.

"It _was_ too easy to find you- you were correct," he smirked, holding up his midnight purple watch. "If you knew we were tracking you, you could have at least taken them off and left them somewhere to try and throw us off."

"Tails…wouldn't do that…" Knuckles groaned on the ground. "He worked too hard on them."

"So your friend's the one that designed these? Impressive."

"You don't remember, Meta Knight?" Knuckles questioned, somewhat appalled. His foe narrowed his eyes as he started down at him.

"I don't know what you're talking about. Now, die-"

"He said not to kill them," the girl snapped, leaping over Tails and landing behind Knuckles. "Just knock 'em out."

She then jumped up and clonked Knuckles in the back of the head, sending him right back down to the ground. Tails cringed and scooted away, unsure of whether to make another break for it while they were distracted or stay and help. Both were beneficial…and hurtful.

"Get out of here, Tails! I'll hold them off!" Knuckles ordered, performing somewhat of a break dancing move, sweeping "Meta Knight" and the girl's legs out from under them, then proceeding to dig into the floor. When he came back up, he punched the girl in the stomach while at the same time kicking "Meta Knight" in the face. The girl fell to the ground instantly while "Meta Knight" wrapped into his cape and disappeared.

"Great, where'd he go?"

"Why don't you find out," snickered the girl, pushing Knuckles forward after jumping back to her feet. Before Knuckles even knew what was going on, he sensed the sword getting ready to slice his head right off, so he doubled over backwards and watched as the edge of the blade just missed his nose. The girl shoved him back to the floor, only to be kicked in the face and sent staggering backward.

"But Knuckles, you can't possibly-"

Knuckles shot Tails a brief sharp glance before socking "Meta Knight" right in the mask. "What are ya still standing around for? GO!"

"I-I won't-"

"NARGH!"

Tails' widened his eyes and ducked as the girl was sent flying across the room, thanks to being thrown by the enraged Knuckles. Tails had to gawk at that at least, but the girl's returned hostility made the action seem justified. She bounded upward at an impressive height, but not quite as high as what Knuckles had seen in his life, then crashed down onto Knuckles' head with an extended leg. Knuckles grabbed her leg and slammed her into the ground. "Meta Knight" followed up by flying out of the shadows and attempting to stab Knuckles. Knuckles winced and rolled out of the way quickly- the sword _just_ missed him.

"Why are you two doing this? Don't you know who I am?" Knuckles asked, constantly trying to dodge both of their blows but finding it to be impossible.

"We know who you are- you're a Knucklehead!" the girl chortled, landing another blow to Knuckles' side with her black boot. Knuckles grabbed the girl's ankle and literally chucked her over his head once again, right next to "Meta Knight".

"Jerk," she hissed. Knuckles folded his arms and rolled his eyes.

"Hmph, even when you're hypnotized, you still have the gall to insult me," he sighed. "You'd think that-"

A sharp zing pierced the air, and all time seemed to stop until a pained cry rang out in the darkness.

"OW! MY ARM! NRRGH…"

The golden sword finished its strike, its owner looking pleased with his work. Knuckles fell to his knees, grabbing his injured arm with a strained expression. The girl was tempted to launch an arrow to increase his pain and suffering, but she remembered what her leader told her and fought the urge- no killing what could be helpful.

"It's sad that its come down to this," Knuckles huffed, afraid to remove his hand.

"We serve Count Bleck," "Meta Knight" responded coldly. Knuckles scowled darkly, then moved his good arm and aimed to knock the girl out with a pound to the head. However, her fingers were faster, as she played a fast pace tune on a reality-warping flute that stopped Knuckles dead in his tracks.

He had meant to say something nasty, but he fell forward onto the ground before any sound could escape his lips.

"I could've done that earlier…" the girl admitted, placing a foot on his head.

"Knuckles! AAAH!" Tails cried, finally making his move and trying to fly over.

Something sprung behind him and gripped one of his tails tightly. He let out a yelp as he suddenly felt himself being held upside down, also being forced to watch as a bleeding and unconscious Knuckles was dragged away.

"Where do you think you're going, hm?"

"Unh…unh…let me go! W-Whaddya need me for?"

His captor grinned, which was the only facial feature Tails could see, besides a plush mustache.

"Same reason we're taking your friend- he has the skill and potential we need on my little squad."

"I-I don't have anything to offer- I'm a coward! I didn't even attempt to help Knuckles!" Tails cried, tears beginning to well up at the corner of his eyes. He felt the grip around his tail get tighter, making him yelp once again.

"Don't lie- you're the one who created these very watches, aren't you? And it's been said you have an immense technical know-how…which could prove useful. You'll be a great addition-OW!"

Tails jabbed his foot into the green-wearing man's face, gasping in shock before scrambling to his feet after being dropped, trying to make a get away. Infuriated, the man growled darkly and crouched down low, only to spring back up and land in front of Tails, cutting off his escape route.

He was promptly whacked in the jaw by a cold hard wrench.

"Hm, you even come with a wrench. How nice…" he huffed, rubbing the soon-to-be-bruised area. He whirled around, seeing Tails now not even touching the ground and trying to fly away. He was scared now- not of the guy trying to capture him, but of just who the guy really was…

"Meta Knight watched them get brainwashed- but since he was _already_ brainwashed while he was watching, he doesn't remember who they were…" he mused to himself. "Just exactly WHAT is-"

"You're mine."

The man had sprung into the air, tackling Tails and dragging him out of the sky. Tails screamed at the sudden attack and reacted quickly, inching out his screwdriver and jabbing the mysterious man in the side. He swore several times but never released Tails, who kept applying pressure while straining his eyes shut.

"I-I'm sorry…"

"Shut up, no you're not. You wouldn't have done it in the first place if you were."

When they both returned to the ground, Tails felt himself be forced to the floor then kicked a good distance away into the wall. His attacker hobbled over to him, gripping his side. At least he'd be able to take care of the injury later, not that Tails knew that.

"Just think of how Knuckles feels…" Tails strained to say, sprawled out on the floor. His opponent didn't listen, starting to march up to him.

"When we get you all squared away, hoo boy, I'mma make sure you never smile again…you'll take orders from me, me alone, and do everything I say, and I'mma make you suffer every waning minute of it!"

Tails recoiled from the sudden dark tone- it was definitely terrifying to hear, especially with _his _voice being the one to don said tone. The fox felt another strike, this one to his cheek. A harsh slap. Another blow- to his leg. A foot attempting to crush him and make him beg for mercy- his back screaming in pain. He knew that he was trying to be broken, but Tails wasn't about to cave in. Forced against his will by something he couldn't control? That seemed to be the case. Weakened until he couldn't even think about moving? Optional. But broken? Not today.

"I'm never going to join you…" Tails continued to protest. "…especially on the dark side!"

"Hmph, stubborn kid. You don't get a choice, got it?"

"Urgh…" Tails was picked up by the wrist, blue eyes starting straight into pure white ones. With his free hand, Tails' captor revved back a fist, wearing a snarky expression. His fist was aimed for the poor fox's face.

"It'll hurt once, and when you come to, you won't remember a thing. And better yet, you'll be working for me…won't it be fun?"

"I've failed…I didn't save anybody…" Tails mumbled under his breath. The villain raised an eyebrow.

"The heck are you mumbling about? A brat like you should be quaking in fear right now! I'm about to punch the living daylights out of you!"

Tails sighed in defeat, staring blankly into the white eyes once again.

"Luigi…just get it over with."

The man barked out a genuine laugh, chortling deeply. "_Luigi?_ Heh, sounds like the name of a loser, who unfortunately isn't me. How pitiful. You'll know my name soon enough…"

"Luigi…is my best friend…" Tails droned, the pain in his arm from being dangled like that intensifying by the second. "He'd never hurt me…"

"Newsflash kid, I ain't Luigi. Heh heh heh…"

And he struck.

* * *

**:O (I HAD to do one slightly evil chapter with them. :P)**


	24. This is For the Fishes

Super Paper Mario X

Chapter 23: This is For the Fishes

_"Timpani, why? Why do you avoid me?"_

_"Ow…OW! Unhand me!"_

_"Huh? You're crying! Why? Timpani, you must tell me what has happened!"_

_"It's nothing…don't worry about it…just forget it…"_

_"Oh no…Timpani, is my father behind this?"_

_"I'm…I'm just an ordinary girl. No matter how much I love you, we must part."_

_"Timpani…I…"_

_"This is goodbye, Blumiere. There is no other choice. This is our fate…"_

_. . ._

Mario, Link, Sonic, Kirby, Peach, Amy, Zelda, Bowser, Eggman, and Ganondorf all exited out of the yellow door from the Bitlands, returning back to Flipside Tower.

"That was…a little weird for awhile, but we seem to have gotten through it okay…" Peach summarized sheepishly.

"I'm so sorry…it was all my fault…" Tippi droned, voice filled with regret. "And…Then…You all…Thank you so much…"

Mario: Yeah!

"Pbth! Wanna know how you can thank me, bugface? Just stay outta my way, OK?" growled Bowser. Peach gaped for a few precious seconds at the calling of Tippi "Bugface", but then suddenly looked thoughtful.

"Say, come to think of it…Bowser…could you and your team be our third set of heroes?"

"Ho there!" Merlon called out, arriving on the scene and preventing Peach from receiving an answer. "I gave been waiting for you, young heroes! Did you succeed in your search for the next Pure Heart?"

"I guess we did…" Tippi answered.

"When we saved Tippi, the Pure Heart just…appeared!" exclaimed Kirby, throwing up his hands for emphasis.

Merlon lowered his head in though. "Mmm…how very interesting…I think that castle was once a dwelling of the Ancients I told you of earlier. It seems that my ancestors have roamed far and wide in their dimensional travels. "In a castle beyond the great sea, we hid a Pure Heart and sealed it safely…"Yes, I remember reading such a passage in the Light Prognosticus. The seal could only have been broken by a powerful seal of love and trust…"

"So…you think because Tippi began to trust us that we found this Pure Heart?" Peach asked. "That's amazing…"

"You mean she didn't trust us before?" Link questioned, glancing at the rainbow butterfly.

"I dunno, with all the positive feelings and assurance and encouraging, I don't see how that Pure Heart didn't show up sooner!" murmured Ganondorf under his breath.

"And now there are three teams of heroes! Ho ho! I don't know who the last is, but waste no time in searching, my friends!"

"Oh please! C'mon, people! With me here, you don't need anybody else, seriously!" Bowser boasted. "Trust me, any problem comes up, I'll stomp it into next week! I'll Bowserize it!"

"Oh ho! Well met, Mr. Bowser!"

"Ahem…we're here too," Eggman pointed out.

"Go us," Ganondorf said "cheerfully". "No one gets through-"

"BOWSER! Yeah!" Bowser interrupted while cheering and dancing.

Eggman and Ganondorf protested, "_Team_ Bowser!"

"No, Team _BEG!" _Link called.

"I still remember how you got that name…sweet memories…" sighed Sonic.

Merlon nodded. "May your strength protect the grou-"

The ground started shaking violently again, knocking a few people into some others.

"Why is the ground shaking like this?" Zelda gasped, clinging on to Link.

"The Void is getting even bigger!"

"No, we're getting closer to the Void!" Kirby shouted.

"Technically he is right," Eggman realized.

"We must keep going…" Tippi suddenly said, changing the tone of the conversation quickly. "We must start looking for the next Heart Pillar…"

"There are matters I must attend to as well…I must search for any item of significance in the Light Prognosticus…"

"Yeah, you go read a book while we do some hard manual labor!" Link shouted, shaking a fist as the old man slithered off to go 'read his book'. Everyone seemed to be somewhat clueless about what to do- after all, they had explored everywhere that could currently be explored, not to mention some of the new comers didn't really know their way around the place.

"You know what?" Peach asked, chin resting in the palm of her hand. "I think I just might know where the fourth Heart Pillar may be."

"You do?" "Where?" "How?" …Where?"

"Let's see…this will probably need…you, you, definitely you two, um…and you, just in case," She said, pointing at Link, Amy, Bowser, Mario, and Eggman. Sonic, Zelda, Kirby, and Ganondorf traded glances.

"Um…you don't need us?" Sonic and Zelda asked in unison.

"It's all the same to me…" shrugged Ganondorf.

"Ooh! I'mma go back in the Bitlands and talk to Barry just for kicks!" Kirby suddenly cried, jumping up and down excitedly. "He'll be totally shocked when he sees me again…he's right at the beginning too, so I'll probably be back before you even return!"

No one even had the chance to go against Kirby's proclamation- he had already bolted back through the Yellow Door.

"Oooookaaaay…anyway…"

"Maybe if we're lucky, he'll kidnap Barry, then we can use him for our own purposes."

"I doubt Kirby is going to kidnap a Pixl," huffed Zelda. She glanced at Peach. "We'll wait here to make sure he does come back, I guess…"

Peach waved to them as the group headed out.

"I promise, it won't take very long…what's the point in all of us going if we'll be right back? You three can stay here and wait for the next door to appear…or you can come too, if you really want."

"Actually, no, it's fine," Zelda decided, changing her mind. "There are some things I'd like to straighten out for myself anyway…"

Sonic folded his arms and tapped his foot. "All right, I'll stay, but you better be telling the truth that you won't take too long…"

"I _promise,_ Sonic! I have a good feeling about this!"

Ganondorf gagged. "UGH…"

Everyone glared at Ganondorf's negative reaction to being positive, then Mario allowed Peach to lead the way, since she apparently knew what she was going. He had to admit, seeing Peach take charge like this was nice to watch. Was it the fact she felt helpful now? Or was it the influence of the return of Tippi? Whatever the reason was, Peach was chipper, and Tippi was suddenly right behind her.

. . .

"I wonder what possessed me to want to talk to Barry so badly…" Kirby pondered, now back in the Bitlands. He didn't have to search far to find Barry- he literally was still hiding out in the bushes from where they first encountered him. Kirby poked the bushes trying to probe him out, but Barry had already flown out and started to speak.

"Whoa-ho-now? You wanna hear the three tips again? Just say the word!" Barry exclaimed.

"Well, that's really not necessary…we already saved Tippi!" explained Kirby. "I came back cuz I wanted to tell you that!"

Barry was stunned. "No more hints? No way…you actually defeated Francis?"

"Yup yup!"

"Whoa whoa whoa, slow down! That's HUGE NEWS! I'm just glad I could help with that daring mission to infiltrate the nerd lair."

"We couldn't have done it without yer tips, for sure!" Slim stated cheerfully. Barry's high spirits soon started to lower.

"So, uh…I guess there's no need for me to stay here and give out tips…I guess I've done my job. I've got nothing to do now…" he glanced at the ground, Kirby and Slim trying to make sense of what he could possibly be thinking. Barry then looked at Kirby. "Oh, hey…How about I tag along with you guys?"

"Well I-"

"I've made up my mind! I'm coming with you guys whether you want me or not!"

"Er…I was going to ask if you wanted to come with us, but apparently you do, _so_…"

Barry blinked. "Oh. Cool. Anyway, there's plenty of dangerous types wandering out there. Let's stick together. It'll be safer for both of us that way."

"Okay…but, well, what can you do? What's your super-cool special ability?"

"Give me a try!"

Kirby really wasn't sure what to expect, but once he used Barry's power, he felt himself spin around in the air, surrounded by a ring of spikes. Then, nothing.

"Uh-"

"Here," Barry sighed, urging Kirby to follow him toward an enemy, which happened to be a Squig. "When it attacks, use my ability, and then you'll see."

Kirby readied himself. "Okay, if you say so…you're a really weird Pixl…"

The Squig took note of Kirby's presence, then shot out a brown rock. Kirby waited for the right moment, then spun around in his spike barrier. The rock was sent right back to the Squig. Catching on, and getting excited, Kirby rushed up and got as close to the Squig as possible. Just before he touched him, Kirby spun around in the barrier and dispatched the foe.

"There ya go- you're already getting the hang of it!"

"You're a Superguarding Pixl!" Kirby cried, breaking out into a dance. "That's so cool! You're just like me! Oh, wait…"

Slim floated off to the side, cocking his head, while Barry was wondering what was happening now.

"Aw…I want you both…" Kirby sighed. "I dunno if I can have two Pixls though…"

"Why can't you have us both?" Slim questioned.

"Yeah, wouldn't that make things easier?" added Barry.

"Yeah…but it wouldn't be fair for me to have two when other people still don't even have any…" Slim flew over and landed in Kirby's right palm. Kirby glanced at Slim, then back at Barry and grinned. "Hmm…however, I think I may be able to get away with this…"

. . .

"So, where are we going, exactly?" Eggman inquired, once they excited the elevator into Flipside's second floor.

"I remember when Mario, Link and I went beyond the gate for the first time…I saw poles that looked like something Thudley would be useful for! Perhaps if we did something there, the Pillar would appear?"

"That theory already sound impossible- what gate?" Bowser questioned. Mario and Link each gave a nod, then took control and flipped into 3D, reuniting with the door they unlocked and entered so long ago.

"Never thought we'd end up here again," Link said as they made their way to the outskirts. Once they reached the outskirts, they removed control, and Peach instantly ran to the left.

"See? Right there- the poles!" she exclaimed. Sure enough, ivory posts were lined up in the outskirts, in a similar fashion to how they were in the Tile Pole.

"Do you know which ones Bowser should Ground Pound?" Amy asked as Bowser readied Thudley.

Peach frowned. "No, I-"

"All you need to do is ground pound the farthest two on the left…" Tippi informed, straining her power to find the answer. "Yeah…just do that Bowser…"

Peach cocked her head in surprise. "Are you sure Tippi?"

"Yes…"

"Well, I'll give it a shot," Bowser boomed nevertheless, pounding the leftmost pole into the ground then ground pounding the second pole to emerge it out of the ground. Apparently that really was all that needed to be done, as the fourth Heart Pillar arose out of the dirt.

"That was easy!"

"…what did you need us for?" yelled Link, Amy, and Eggman. "We weren't needed whatsoever!"

"Um…support?" Peach replied nervously. No one really bought it. "Well I wasn't entirely sure I was even on the right track…you never know…"

"It was good thinking, Peach," Tippi assured. She turned to Mario. "Now we can place that Pure Heart into the Pillar and continue on…"

Mario: Oh yeah!

"The most we can do I suppose is watch the placing of the heart!" exclaimed Eggman.

"Don't make that big a deal out of it…" scolded Amy, turning from Eggman back to the plumber in red. "Go Mario!"

Mario pulled out the green Pure Heart in all of its shimmering glory, allowing it to float out of his grasp and place itself into the Heart shaped slot on the Pillar. Everyone watched in awe as green designs danced around, the door to the fourth world creating itself back at Flipside Tower. Sonic and Zelda, who were still there like they were told to be, had seen it appear.

"That's neat…" Sonic whistled, poking at the green door that had appeared next to the yellow one. When he got no response, he looked over his shoulder- Ganondorf was lying on the ground like he was trying to get some sort of snooze while Zelda was sitting on the edge of the tower, dangling her legs over the side with her hands folded neatly in her lap. Unlike Peach, she wasn't feeling very peppy…so Sonic was going to try and fix that.

"Hey…why are ya sitting over the edge like that?"

Zelda shrugged. "What? I'm not allowed to sit and take a bit of a rest?"

"I didn't mean that…I meant why do you look so down! You were the one who lifted everyone else's spirits earlier, and now you're all sad…"

"I know…" Zelda sighed, practically giving up. Sonic tilted his head, then proceeded to sit next to her.

"So what's up?"

The princess hesitated for a brief moment, not sure if she really wanted to say, but she did know that if there was anyone she could talk to, it was Sonic- right after Link himself…in her book, anyway.

"I'm glad all the stuff about my big jump blew over…but the whole wedding thing is still nagging at me! I mean, I know it happened and there's nothing I can do to change it and I should just move on, but…well, there are just some things you can't move on from."

"I know how it is," Sonic muttered under his breath. Zelda raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"You do?"

"Yup! And it's related to the same topic too…"

He shifted uncomfortably, then heaved out a sigh like Zelda did.

"I dunno…I'm not really upset about it anymore, just bummed out, I suppose…"

"About how you weren't invited?"

"…yeah…" he managed to croak out. "It kinda stung, you know?"

Zelda nodded. "I know…I'm sorry, I should've tried harder to talk him into-"

"It's okay…like you said, there's nothing we can do now…"

They both fell silent for a moment, then spoke at the same time: "But it's still there…"

"It doesn't help that there's blame about how Link's the "Man in Green", whose supposed to make some big decision about which Prognosticus is correct, and how the fact he invited none of us to the wedding possibly secured our fate-"

"Wait, what are you talking about?" Zelda asked, not annoyed, but genuinely curious.

"No one told you about the Man in Green thing?"

"No, I haven't heard the full story yet…"

Sonic jumped to his feet and wove out the story, starting from when Merlon pointed out that the Man in Green would determine which Prognosticus is correct, and all about what he was going to do, and then he added on how Amy thought it was possible this was all Link's fault and so on and so on…

"…that's quite a mouthful…" she whispered.

"I know…I really don't think he's the Man in Green just because he's in green and he's a man…we think."

"But, think about it…" Zelda started slowly. "if the Man in Green is going to determine whether we're destroyed or not, what's the point of us going out and collecting the Hearts if it's all in vain, either way?"

"Maybe us collecting Pure Hearts makes the Man in Green determine that the Light Prognosticus is correct," shrugged Sonic. "Any little thing we do can effect an outcome…"

"I suppose you could be right…"

He gave a small smile and helped her off the ground. "There's endless possibilities…"

"Also very true…" she trailed, grinning back. "Oh, and Sonic?"

"Yeah, Princess?"

Zelda made a mock face, getting Sonic to snicker.

"…don't tell anyone I'm still upset. It'll bring everyone down, and I don't want to see that…I think I've sufficed myself for now by venting out to you."

"…all right. As long as you don't mention I'm still a bit miffed. I feel like I'm the only one that was really effected by that…"

"It just goes to show how fortunate Link is to have a friend like you," Zelda replied, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Really, he should've considered your thoughts on the situation…"

"HEY GUYS!" Kirby suddenly blared, running out of the yellow door and stepping on Ganondorf, jolting him from his brief nap. "I got Barry!"

"You kidnapped him after all?" gawked Zelda. Kirby reeled back in surprise.

"What? _No! _He was all totally willing to come, isn't that right Barry?"

Barry nodded. "This is true. I hope I'll have a better use for myself if I begin to travel with you…"

"It's fine with me, at least!" Sonic chuckled.

"He's a Superguarding Pixl, Sonic! Isn't that neat?" Kirby continued to ramble, running around like a child that just opened the greatest birthday present ever. "It reminds me of when I super guarded your Whirlwind attack that one time-"

"Oh yeah, I remember that too," Sonic recalled. "That took everyone by surprise, considering Superguarding _me_ is just about impossible…"

"Not when you've got me around!" Barry said proudly.

"…ow…my gut…" groaned Ganondorf, whom was still sprawled out on the ground. Kirby stopped running around excitedly and glanced down at the man withering in pain.

"…I know I didn't do that!"

_"Why you little-"_

"We're back!" Peach's vibrant voice called out as the group returned via elevator.

"Most of us didn't even need to go!" complained Link. Peach folded her arms and gave him a look.

"I told you it was just in case! Sheesh…"

"We see you managed to find the Heart Pillar all right," Zelda said, motioning to the green door. "Are we going to enter right away?"

"Well there's nothing currently holding us back," bellowed Bowser.

"We go in, we get the Heart, and we come back out," shrugged Amy. "Let's go!"

"First positivity, then getting my stomach stampeded on, and now more positivity…this is so not worth it…" murmured Ganondorf.

"Get off the ground- you're blocking the door!"

Bowser and Eggman tag teamed to drag the third member of their team out of the way of the green door, allowing access to the door to the new world. As usual, Mario was the one to be the first to approach, ready to be the one to experience the new environment before anyone else…

. . .

…too bad this "new environment" lacked something that may have been critical to have.

"Mmm, stars everywhere…I believe we're in Outer Space, almost certainly…"

When no one said anything in response, Tippi turned around…only to see everyone flailing about in a panic.

"What troubles you guys?" It then clicked. "Ah…yes…we seem to be lacking air…You need that, don't you?"

Everyone: You think?

Now Tippi was starting to grasp the graveness of the situation. "Oh…oh gracious me…What am I to do? Um…well…Let me see…I…uh…NOOOOOO!"

. . .

"Hey…please wake up…"

"Oh…man…" wheezed Link.

"There's air in my lungs…again…" huffed Amy. "Thank goodness…"

"What kind of logic is THAT?" complained Bowser. "Everyone knows that if you can breathe underwater and ignore water pressure, then you certainly should be able the breathe in space and bare its cold conditions! What's the point of one law of psychics being in effect but not another?"

Mario finally stood back up- somehow, Tippi had teleported them back to Flipside, similar to how she had brought Mario to the place way back when they first met. Seeing the worried expression Tippi donned, Mario assured that they were all fine now.

"Oh, thank goodness…I really don't know how I got us all out of there…It just sort of happened…We won't last out there as we are…Perhaps we should ask Merlon for advice…"

"For once, that may be a good idea," panted Sonic. "Ooog…"

**At Merlon's Abode-**

"Oh ho! That was certainly quickly work…" he chuckled upon seeing the group flood into his house. "You already found the next Pure Heart?"

"No, Merlon…" Tippi trailed. "That door led us straight into Outer Space…"

Merlon's eyes nearly bugged out. "Space? Oh ho, I imagine THAT was an unpleasant surprise!"

"Yes…there was no air, so Mario and his friends couldn't breathe…What do we do?"

"Hmm…well, if you had a space helmet you would be all right, I imagine…"

"And…you have one?"

"Of course, I don't have one! …I have nine!"

Mario: o.O;

"_Nine_ space helmets? Who carries around one space helmet, let alone NINE?" Amy guffawed.

"Don't question it- be glad he has some on him!" Ganondorf mumbled.

"We're one helmet short though…" Kirby realized, already sporting one of the helmets. Everyone else quickly dove for one, leaving Link being the only one not to obtain one.

"Oh come on! See, this is what I _always_ talk about- it's always _me_ that gets the short end of the stick! I-"

Mario gave Link his helmet just to get him to be quiet. Still, there rested the problem that they WERE one helmet short…

"I imagine that something LIKE a space helmet would suffice as well…" Merlon stated, trying to help some more. He inched over to the shelf, grinning to himself. "And I just so happen to…oh, blast it!"

"What now…" sighed Tippi.

"Oh, double blast it all! I cleaned out my shelves the other day…Yes, I HAD the perfect thing, but I was making space, and I gave it to someone in town!"

"To whom?"

"Oh, just some random boy…it seemed more convenient than recycling it…You must find that boy and explain the situation! Get it back from him!"

"Now we're talking…we get to go steal from a little kid!" cackled Eggman. "Finally a little fun for the villains…"

"Are you serious? We are not going to steal it - we are going to politely point out that our very existence balances on whether or not we have the helmet," Kirby responded.

**First Floor of Flipside-**

"THERE! That kid with the fish!" Link cried as they arrived on the first floor after searching the other various areas of Flipside. Bowser, Eggman, and Ganondorf exchanged devilish grins before darting over and practically threatening the boy with his life.

"Give us that fish bowl!" Eggman ordered, his laser gun aimed at the kid's forehead. Bowser and Ganondorf also had him surrounded, ready to attack if necessary. The little kid almost passed out from being under such fear and pressure, but luckily the girls came to his rescue.

"That is _not _how you approach children!" Amy snapped, shoving Eggman away.

"Who raised you?" Zelda scoffed, blasting Ganondorf across the area with Farore's Wind. Bowser only needed to see the look on Peach's face before he went scampering off. Her angry face morphed into a grin as she bent down to the kid.

"Hi there! Sorry about those idiots getting in your face…"

"Could you help us out? Did Merlon give you something like a space helmet?" Zelda asked. The kid obviously preferred the gentle approach compared to the life threats.

"You means this fishbowl? Yeah, I kepted Captain Gills here in a cup, but then he gots too big for it. Yeah, that's why I gots real happy when I gots this fishbowl! Thing is, now the captain gots so the big, the BOWL gots too small for him!"

"Aw, that's not good…" Amy pouted, getting a peek at the large red fish in the bowl. "Your fish sure is a big one! You must be taking great care of him!"

The boy frowned in thought, then came up with an idea. "Hey, I know! Maybe you could find a nice place to sets Captain Gills free for me! Captain deserves FREEDOM! Then you gets the fishbowl. That's good, huh? Hmm…but where can he go…I wanna know that he'll be nearby at all times…You gots to help me!"

He handed the bowl to Peach, who promised that they would find a nice home for Captain Gills.

"Now, if I were an oversized fish that needed a place to swim not far from home, where would I want to go…?" pondered Kirby. Mario had a vague idea of where to go, and he was hoping it was the right one.

**Flipside B1-**

"You plan to dump the poor fish into a _sewer?"_

Mario: It'll be fine!

"Besides, we get the fishbowl afterwards!" Bowser pointed out. Peach folded her arms and glanced at the murky water.

"I still don't like the thought of letting it swim around in there…"

Link snagged the bowl from Peach and casually dumped it into the water. They now had a helmet they could use for Mario!

"Now we can go into space…so…let's head back to that door…" Tippi advised.

"You agree to allowing that fish to live there now?" Peach gaped.

"It looks pretty happy to me…" mused Eggman, watching the fish enjoy its new freedom.

"I guess you're right…I just hope it doesn't die or something…"

"The fish will be fine," Kirby assured. "Now let's go enter the vastness of space!"

Mario somewhat reluctantly placed the fishbowl onto his head and gave Kirby a thumbs up.

**Flipside Tower-**

Now back at Flipside Tower, everyone hung around the door- now that they knew just what was beyond there, some of them were apprehensive about entering. Everyone stood around exchanging glances until Kirby heaved a loud, dramatic sigh and bolted right in.

Apparently if Kirby could do it, anyone else could.

One by one they all filed in. Link was next to enter after Team BEG, Peach, and Amy, giving Zelda, Mario and Sonic a "hurry up" notion before entering. Zelda glanced at Sonic unsurely-she was still concerned about their previous conversation. Sonic responded with a firm nod to console her, and they both followed after. Mario headed on back through the green door once again as well, this time prepared for what was to come…or was he?

. . .

Through the fierce battle of Fort Francis, Tippi and the gang grew closer. Behind a fourth door lay a whole new world that beckoned to them both. What awaited was vaster and stranger than anything they'd encountered so far…In order to claim the Pure Heart, they would have to endure new, far-out trials…


	25. Into Outer Space

Super Paper Mario X

Chapter 24: Into Outer Space

"Space…the Final Frontier…or at least one of them."

"Well, what do you think?" Tippi asked, floating in front of everyone with their helmets. "Can you breathe now?"

"Oh, oh yeah. I can breathe! But now my nose itches! Man, I hate space!" boomed Bowser, struggling to scratch said nose but failing terribly.

"I'm sure we're all feeling a lot better, Tippi," Peach assured. Tippi nodded.

"Very well…let's go then! The Pure Heart is somewhere in this sea of stars…"

"Yeah…how do we find one little tiny Pure Heart in the vastness of space?" Link questioned. "Where would we even begin to look?"

"We'll probably end up stuck floating around in space forever," Ganondorf put bluntly, receiving glares for his casual negativity. Both Link and Ganondorf did have a point, Mario deduced. Where could a Pure Heart be found in space? They could be searching the vastness of it all forever…and possibly get stuck there forever! He noticed he wasn't the only one feeling tense about the situation- his friends were discussing in full detail about what they should do and what could possibly happen. But overall, everyone was clueless.

"Well, we_ are_ in space…" Sonic trailed, somewhat cautiously. "Maybe there's a chance that we could, um…"

"What are you trying to say, Sonic?" Amy asked.

"Yeah, spit it out!" exclaimed Kirby. Sonic scratched the back of his head.

"I was just thinking that there may be a chance we could find Samus…she might have some info related to where we could look, since she knows more about space than anyone else- it's her world, after all. And even if she doesn't have a clue, I'd feel much safer knowing we'd be traveling space with someone who knows what they're doing…"

"Who knows what happened to her…" Zelda trailed. "No one's had contact with her…"

"And what if something happened?" Eggman inquired, pointing out all the possibilities. "There's a chance she may not even be around, or perhaps she got all caught up in the Void like Meta Knight, or it's most likely that she isn't even around these parts-"

"Okay, okay…" Sonic grumbled, now annoyed. "I was just trying to get some ideas going- why can't anyone think about anything as if nothing bad ever does happen?"

"Because not everyone is optimistic," huffed Ganondorf.

"Not everything is bad, though," Peach said. "Just change your perspective on things and you can be a better person!"

"I don't need to change- I'm already the best I can be!" Bowser cheered. Everyone sweat dropped.

"Great to hear, Bowser…"

"If that's the best he can be, then there's still something left to be desired," Amy whispered under her breath.

Mario, on the other hand, was hoping they would locate Samus soon too. It was almost impossible that they wouldn't, considering she must have seen the Void and tried to do something about it, plus, this really _was_ her world. As he thought it over, Mario heard a faint pinging noise. He honestly thought he was hearing things. With more focus, it turned out that there was a sound- accompanied by green SOS's floating around.

Mario: …am I the only one seeing this?

"I see it too…" Link replied slowly, watching the SOS flash before his eyes.

"Freaky- where's it coming from?" Amy wondered, catching on as well. Eggman was quick to the response, whipping out his laser and hitting a small switch located on the bottom of it. Everyone simply stared.

"Uh…what're you doing?"

"I'm pretty sure zapping whatever's sending out that SOS isn't a good idea."

"Hush, all of you," Eggman grumbled, hitting the trigger and moving the gun around. "I've just put my laser on its scanner setting to see if I can detect the source's direct location."

"We could just follow the SOS's-"

"This is _much_ more efficient!"

"How much energy is that thing using?"

"…not necessarily _energy_ efficient."

Nevertheless, the group hoped Eggman knew was he was doing, and followed him in a down-right direction. This went on for a bit until they hit an invisible…something. With sparkles!

"The source is right here but there's nothing there!" he squalled, checking his readings over and over again.

"Sparkles! Sparkles! Golden sparkles…"

"Kirby! Stop poking at the cute sparkles!"

"But it's fun! Poke-poke-poke-poke-"

"Maybe…" Peach began, looking thoughtful. "There's something here after all…"

"What do you mean by that?" asked Zelda. Peach grinned brightly, pointing at the set of sparkles. Before Zelda could even comment again, Tippi broke into several triangles with her powers, circling the sparkling area Peach was pointing at.

"What in the world is this…?" Tippi gasped, her powers showing all. "Why was this hidden here?"

"It's space ship!"

"No…it looks more like a capsule!"

"Maybe it's a space capsule?"

"I'll make it appear…" Tippi finished, reverting back to butterfly form as the space capsule became visible. Sonic instantly went over to it and stood on top of it, peering down.

"Huh…wouldn't it be weird if it came from the future or something?"

"Hey, a convenient red button-"

"Not the button!" "Don't push that, Kirby!"

Push.

Sonic toppled over backward as the lid slid off, a cool, brief, gust of air whooshing out along with it. Everyone gawked at what resided inside- a small little green alien squid thing.

"Sqeeeeeeuuuuurrrp…Squirple sqeeple squinks! Mornin' SQUIRP!"

"Oh crud…" "I already don't like him." "I think he's adorable!" "ZOMG it talks!"

"Good gravy, you're ugly!" yelped Bowser, flinching from the sight. "What in this world ARE you? And what're you doing here?"

"You're the ones looking for the Pure Heart, squirple? Hm! Cuter than I thought!"

"Get this thing away from me."

"How do you know about the Pure Heart? And about us?" Tippi asked, obviously since everyone else was too appalled to do so. "And are you allied with Count Bleck? I demand answers…"

The creature shook his head. "Noooo… No scary faces! You can call me Squirps! I'm your captain, squoooork! And if you want the Pure Heart, we need to work together, squoop!"

Even Tippi was confused. "Whatever do you mean? Please, explain yourself…"

"Squirps can't tell much now, but you must trust Squirps. Now, follow me, Squinks."

"As much as this guy gives me a weird vibe, it doesn't seem like a trap," Sonic shrugged.

"We won't be doing that. We just met you and-"

"SQUACK! You! You heed the captain! You are a space grunt now, and that is the ONLY rule!"

"I'll give you a space grunt…" Ganondorf grumbled, being held back by Kirby, Zelda, and Link.

"You're only responses should be "Yes, Sir!" and "Gotcha!" Understand, squirple?"

"Gotcha!" called Sonic.

Everyone else: *reluctant* Yes, sir…

"Squeh squeh squeh squeh…looks like you understand your place, SQUIRP!"

"Yeah, now if only we could put you in your place-"

"Take a chill, Ganondorf!"

"Seriously! It does wonders!"

Tippi turned to everyone hesitantly. "Are you okay with this?"

Mario: Oh yeah.

"It's fine with me- he seems nice," Peach stated. "Plus Sonic said it wasn't a trap."

"Whatever…but the second this kid crosses me, I'll munch him like a green corn niblet!" Bowser growled.

"If you say so…"

"He repulses me," Ganondorf said bluntly.

"Too bad you don't get a say in that," Link huffed while rolling his eyes.

"Great! Let's get ready, then…Squarp formation, squoogle!" he floated over to Mario, and everyone crowded around. "We'll 'squarp' directly to the Pure Heart. It's like warping, except Squirps invented it. In order to squarp, we'll need a lot of energy, squeeeeeerk. You're all brimming with power-up power, right? You must give it to Squirps!"

Everyone: ?

"I'm not really sure how to comment on this-"

"Unh! C'mon, power to Squirps! Power to Squirps!" Kirby chanted, trying as hard as he possibly could to give power to Squirps. Needless to say, it wasn't working, which meant Squirps' method of "squarping" was ineffective.

So Mario pretended to give power to Squirps in hoping he'd be able to teleport them anyway.

"SUCCESS!"

He shot a small beam in front of them all, which somehow created a small wormhole. Kirby let out a screech and cowered behind Amy.

"I-is that another V-Void?"

"It's a Squarp hole!" Squirps explained. "Here we go…SQUARP!"

He forged onward, taking his "space grunts" along with him. They kept spinning and spinning and spinning and spinning and spinning…

…until they emerged out the other side.

Where there most certainly was _not_ a Pure Heart.

"…squoh? We're…not even close to our destination…" groaned Squirps. "Is that all the power-up power you have, squirp? Good-for-nothing space grunts…Squirps was an idiot for thinking you had more…"

Ganondorf let out a deep growl and propelled a fire blast at Squirps, which was reflected by Zelda with Nayru's Love while glaring at him in return.

"Well, good-for-nothings have their own ways of moving, squaaaank…well, there's a ways to go before you reach the Pure Heart…you must space-swim! Use me to shoot enemies with my Squirps Squirp Beam. Fire, space grunt!"

Everyone was in unanimous agreement that Mario would be to one to handle Squirps. He groaned, but he figured he'd be the one the little weirdo ended up with anyway. Mario gave Squirps a small squeeze, and a power beam launched out again, hitting Link and making him cry out.

"HEY! Watch where you're aiming!"

Mario: Whoops.

Link winced as he put the small fire out on his tunic while Mario and Squirps carried on. The area they were currently in was filled with Jelliens, jellyfish-like aliens. Mario took aim at an approaching one with Squirps and turned it into toast in no time. The rest of the gang wanted to help out, even if it was just to prevent boredom, and so they started attacking anything that came their way as well.

Space-swimming was much more tedious than anyone had predicted, and it was becoming increasingly evident that it was going to take a long time before they got to the Pure Heart. There wasn't much to speak of, either. Ganondorf would wipe out an ambush of Jelliens with his magic, then everyone else would try and attack any that got away. Kirby flipped into 3-D and found a Foton card, not really sure what the enemy was.

"Huh…" he pondered, following everyone through the next portal. "I wonder what this Foton creature is…"

"I think _that's_ a Foton…" Amy trailed, pointing at the green and purple alien launching blue orbs at them.

"Well now we've got them on a card, they're weaklings! Grah aha hahahah!" Bowser cackled.

Eggman dramatically held his laser out in front of him and put on a smug look. "I've got this one! Just wait until I turn this Foton into Photons!"

"That was terrible," groaned Sonic.

"Please, leave the jokes to the professional," scoffed Link.

"Psh, what professional?" snickered Peach, make Link grit his teeth and Zelda hide a giggle. Eggman just made a face and took direct aim at the Foton. He pulled the trigger…only to scan the Foton instead of "turning it into Photons".

"Oh drat. I forgot to change the set back from "scan" to "kill".

"Heh heh, what an epic fail-"

"Shut up Sonic!"

Eggman adjusted the laser back to the appropriate setting, then finally destroyed the Foton.

"Took ya long enough-"

Eggman gave Ganondorf a murderous look. "I don't need any talk from you either!"

"…does any one else wonder if we're going the right way?" Amy asked, sitting on Carrie as they carried on. "Like we've said, space is huge…how do we know were aren't going in a circle?"

"It certainly is beautiful though, even if the trip may be dragging on…" Zelda trailed. "Just look at the stars! Gorgeous…"

"Not as gorgeous as Link thinks you are," Sonic practically sang, attempting to skip by. Link instantly flushed and tried to chase Sonic, but a cat-and-mouse chase wasn't really possible when you were space swimming. Zelda continued to laugh, amused by the display.

"Anyway, I, uh, bring up the getting lost thing because…we've got a fork in the road." Amy continued. She motioned in front of everyone, where there were two warp portals, and going through the incorrect one could prove to be dangerous.

"If we end up going through the wrong one, we can always just backtrack right?" Kirby asked.

"I would think so," stated Peach. "The question is, which way shall we take?"

"I say the top one! It seems more superior!" declared Bowser.

Mario thought it would be better to go through the second one. However, Bowser charged through the top one anyway, causing Ganondorf and Bowser to follow HIM…but then Peach accidentally got caught up in the second wormhole, and Zelda and Amy followed her. Team Mario promptly face palmed.

"Okay…uh…me and Mario take the first?" Link asked.

Sonic and Kirby shrugged. "It's all the same to us!"

They all split up and went into the wormholes…only to appear in the same area. Team BEG and Team ZAP were confused as well.

"Certainly wasn't expecting that…" Tippi murmured. "How interesting…"

"We were worked up over nothing!" Amy chuckled. "But…now what?"

Mario: Let's go all the way to the right.

"All the way? Why?"

Mario wasn't really sure- but the fact that there were random wormholes floating here and there made him uncomfortable. As usual, no one spoke against Mario's judgment and headed as far to the right as they could go. Sure enough, there was a lone wormhole there, and Mario led everyone through it.

"Now go left! Go left, squap!" Squirps ordered, trying to pull Mario in that direction.

"Why so eager to pull us in that direction, huh?" Kirby questioned, eyeing him suspiciously. "I bet you're trying to lead us into a trap!"

"Squirps would do no such thing, squoh! Squirps is trying to lead you in the right direction! Listen, squawk!"

"I don't trust him," Ganondorf said bluntly.

"Everyone knows you're always supposed to go to the right anyway," added Amy, still sitting on Carrie. "It's practically a law!"

"I don't think it's a trap though," Sonic stated, staring at the wormhole to the left. "Maybe Squirps is telling the truth and this_ is _the right way!"

"I dunno…it seems fishy…" pondered Kirby.

"What do you think Mario?" Peach asked, turning to the red plumber who was thinking the situation over carefully.

Mario: To the left.

"What? But-but you always go to right! It's like your motto! It's your code!" Link wailed. "And now you want to go left? The world really will come to an end-"

"Link, get a grip!"

"Sorry, sorry…but can you believe this is really happening?"

"I don't see how a simple change in direction is so life threatening," Eggman said plainly.

Mario and Squirps charged through the left portal, with a few members of the group reluctantly following.

. . .

"You want to know a good thing about space that I've realized?" Link asked as soon as they arrived in the next area. "Space doesn't have those annoying red doors."

There was a luxury to this space trip after all.

"Okay, so do we actually head to the right this time?" Zelda asked, using Farore's Wind on nearby Jelliens. Mario nodded eagerly.

"Yep! Yep! We should be getting somewhere soon, squee!"

"How soon is soon, exactly?" muttered Sonic.

"I see a pipe on a planet in the background!" Peach suddenly cried, pointing over to where she was talking about.

"It looks like we can possibly get over there with a wormhole…" Eggman deduced.

"Do you see any around here though?" asked Zelda, hands on her hips.

"I do!" Kirby cried, returning from 3-D that nobody saw him enter into. "It's behind that big rock over there. If Team Mario takes control, we can get to the pipe no problem!"

"Good thinking Kirby!" Link exclaimed, throwing his arms over his head.

"Aw, I try…"

"…"

Mario joined them as well, taking control and bringing his team into the third dimension. Just like Kirby had said, behind a rock was the hidden wormhole.

"Wow, that's something you don't see every day!" Sonic exclaimed.

"A wormhole behind a rock?"

"…yes."

The four of them then ventured into the wormhole, and started spinning and spinning and spinning and spinning and spinning and spinning…

…until they made it out on the other side, where they floated over to the green pipe on the small planetoid and ventured in.

Once Team Mario popped out of the pipe, they removed control and took a look at their surroundings.

"…this is so not what I expected."

"Does that make it irony?"

Team Mario was quick to take control again- the pipe had lead into a secret room filled with coins! Link hit the single block in the room while Kirby and Sonic scooped up the coins.

"Okay, so this wasn't the way to go…"

"Some things are just too good to be true."

After backtracking back to where they had first flipped into 3-D, Mario told the others that they still had to go right a ways before they'd get to where they needed to go.

"Yes, yes you do, squee!" Squirps chirped. "But now you are richer, no?"

Everyone groaned at Squirps then continued to he right. To Mario's embarassment, if they had gone a little farther they would have seen that the Star Block was just up ahead. However, he was on to something with the pipe and the wormhole, so at least his effort wasn't in too much vain. Ganondorf, Zelda, and Link cleared the way of all aliens and foes, making the path toward the block nice and clear for the group. They were all exhausted- space had really taken a lot out of them! But Mario knew they were closer to the Pure Heart (though not as close as they'd like to be) as he hit the Star Block.

. . .

Mario and the gang cruised through space, led by the young alien Squirps. What kind of creature was it, anyway? And what was with those weird noises? Whenever confronted with a question, he would say, "Squirps is Squirps, SQUAK!"

All they could do was trust that he knew where the Pure Heart was and follow him. They were doing just that when something appeared ahead of them.

It was a teeny-tiny planet.

* * *

**I despise Chapter 4. My absolute least favorite chapter... (even after Chapter 5, and THAT'S saying something.) The only good part about it is the Boss, naturally. ^^**


	26. One Emergency After Another

Super Paper Mario X

Chapter 25: One Emergency After Another

"This planet really seems…on the small side…" Tippi trailed, gazing at the exterior of the planet they had landed on. It was for the most part desolate, but at least it had breathable air, meaning the group could take off their helmets for the time being.

"It's only small if you compare it to other planets- then it would be considered a dwarf planet and get mistreated by scientists," rambled Kirby. Tippi had no idea what Kirby meant, so she returned her attention back to Squirps.

"Just where do you intend to take us?"

"Somewhere on this planet should be an entrance to the Space Byway, squeeork! Yup! It's a shortcut to the Pure Heart!"

"Really…you don't say…and where might this entrance be?"

"Squeh squeh squeh squeh…you're gonna laugh, Squarg! **_IT'S…"_**

Dramatic pause.

"Squirps forgot."

Mario: *falls anime style*

"…"

"I knew we shouldn't trust this kid!" Ganondorf shouted to the sky. Mario got back off the ground and stared Squirps down.

"Don't look at Squirps like that! Everything's fine! I think there should probably be some clues around here somewhere, squirple…"

"What a wretch…" groaned Tippi. Half the gang snickered while Peach was prepared to scold Tippi for referring to Squirps as such- even if it was true. Everything was interrupted as Squirps' face suddenly twisted up in agony.

"HNNNNRG!"

"What is it? Do you remember something?" Tippi asked frantically. Squirps shook his head and started dancing around.

"No! I…I have to go potty! I REALLY have to go! I can't hold it anymore!"

"…are you kidding me?"

"You should have gone before we left!"

"I didn't have to go then!" Squirps shouted back, looking for the nearest restroom.

"Like there's really going to be a convenient toilet on a teeny-tiny random planet in space," scoffed Sonic.

"Maybe he'll find a tree."

"Let's…look for some clues ourselves…" sighed Tippi.

Mario: Yeah…

And so start their trek on the Planet Blobule. Wherever Squirps had ran off to, they were hoping he would take care of his business and- in Ganondorf's case- get lost. However, he didn't get far…because he was standing right next to a porta-potty.

"What the…"

"Okay, that's way too convenient. What the heck?"

"Squiiiiiiiiirps! It's occupied, squiiinkle! And whoever's in there won't come out!" Squrips wailed, still putting on a performance with his bathroom dance. "At this rate…Squirps is going to have an accident!"

"Well whoever is in there needs to come out!" growled Bowser, thundering up to the door and pounding on it mercilessly.

"Does anyone else find it weird that there even IS someone in there?" Amy asked, to which several of the others nodded.

_"Heeeeere I seeeet, amore! Awaiting you, amore! No more, no more, amore!" _the voice inside the restroom sang. Bowser took a few steps back and stared at the door, a confused expression plastered to his face.

"This is no time for some silly song, squirple! I've got a bathroom emergency here!" Squirps wailed.

_"100 years ago, amore! I came in here to go, amore! So bored, so bored, amore! No toilet paper here, amore! I wait 100 years, amore! What for, what for, amore? Any paper please, amore? Just a sheet for me, amore! Implore, implore, amore!"_

"Amore."

"I take it we have to find a piece of paper for him?" Zelda winced.

"Of course not! Who says we need to help him anyway? It'll just slow us down!" grunted Bowser.

"Like you guys don't slow us down enough already," Kirby giggled.

"I refuse to reply to that."

"Hey look- zero gravity!" Sonic interrupted, taking a small leap off the ground and jumping incredibly high. "It's just like back on the moon!"

"If it's like the moon, then I still can't balance on my sword," grumbled Link. "…but we can still, how you say, get a _jump_ on things!"

Mario rolled his eyes while smirking as everyone else got on Link's case for the terrible joke. It was true- their jumps were greatly improved on this planet due to lesser gravity. It reminded Mario of Team Luigi once again- and once again, he was reminded of how they were no where to be found.

Meanwhile, while Mario was pondering important concepts, everyone else was enjoying their new jumping skills, especially the villains. Bowser even threw up his hands in celebration.

"Whee!"

The group bounded through the planet, jumping on anything that got in their way. Amy crushed a Longator, Link found a hidden ledge with a Shroom in a ? Block, and Kirby was knocked right off the edge of a cliff thanks to Eggman's abrupt landing right next to him.

"…oops?"

"Kirby!" Amy cried, running over to the edge and peering down. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine! I found a door that needs a key though!"

"Really?"

Mario walked over to Amy and looked down as well- Kirby was pointing frantically at the red-rainbow door, locked up tightly. He then jumped up and leaped from wall to wall until he returned with the rest of the gang.

"Not much we can do with that yet though, so let's keep going!"

Mario nodded and was the first to make the daring leap over the gap. When he landed on the other side, he stylishly took out another Longator and saw a brown block suspended in midair. Link stumbled to a stop and, similar to what happened to Kirby, knocked Mario over the edge.

"Why is everyone having so much trouble making solid landings?" Peach asked, delicately floating to the ground with her parasol over her shoulder. Link whirled around and shook a fist.

"I tripped! Can't say the same about Eggman-"

"Hey! I'm not used to jumping, let alone performing such long-jump feats!"

"That's not a surprise," muttered Zelda.

Amy peeked over the edge again, looking around. "Where'd Mario go?"

"He's over there," Ganondorf said simply, pointing over the next gap. Mario reappeared from 3-D, then landed on the other side. The only way to climb up the side was to flip into 3-D, but it took longer than he had wanted it to thanks to another Longator. But now that he was on the next ledge…he found a statue.

Mario: ?

It was a small rock with a face and a mustache sitting on top of an identical rock, with the only difference being that it was larger. Above the statue was, how Mario described, a small white rip in space. It had an odd glow to it, emitting sparkles as well, and Mario wasn't sure was he was supposed to do with it, or what it was there for.

"Would you like me to use Tippi to see if she can find something?" Peach asked, once everyone caught up.

"That won't be necessary…" Tippi explained. "I can't reveal anything with my power, but I can say that that is…a dimensional rift."

"A dimensional rift?" everyone gasped in unison. Tippi nodded.

"Yes…it's hard to explain…basically it means there's something in a parallel dimension where the rift is, and if you can open it or flip it or something, then the object will come into this dimension for your use…"

"Wow, intricate," Link stated. "Do you think the reason it's there is because someone hid something there?"

"Who knows…but I think we should find a way to see what's behind it…"

Mario was definitely intrigued by it too, but like the locked door, there was nothing they could do about it now. What they could do was just keep on going, as boring as that sounded. They kept going forward, until they came to a stack of blocks, which Eggman figured out were blocking a door. Link and Amy worked quickly, using Boomer and Amy's hammer to break, bash, and blast them all out of the way. They all promptly headed through the door afterwards.

. . .

In the next area, it appeared that there was no way to go, so Team Mario took control and flipped into 3-D. When they jumped on the nearest ledge, the only way to go forward was through a super-thin crack in the cliff. Kirby grinned and summoned Slim, then maneuvered the gang through the crack.

"Holy springs!"

"Don't you mean holy rings?"

"No," Sonic retorted, still starting at the blue and purple Boing-Oings hopping around. "I mean holy springs."

"They're like alien Sproing-Oings!" gasped Kirby.

"Nothing we can't take care of," Bowser chuckled, blasting the foes with fire.

"Hey, a ? block," Zelda said, walking over to it and giving it a hit. A red flower popped out, and she broke out into a smile. "Ooh, how pretty! Hey, come here flower…"

"Zelda don't touch that!" Peach tried to warn her, but it was too late. The moment Zelda picked it up, time began to speed up.

"Why what's wrong withpickingthisflower? Ohnevermind…"

"Allright! Speedspeed_speedspeed**SPEED**_!" cheered Sonic, moving around faster than usual. "Isn'tthatgreat?"

"Whathe-OW!"

A remaining Boing-Oing quickly dodged Bowser's fire and hit him on the head, while Ganondorf knocked it out of the air with a swipe of his glowing purple fist. Meanwhile, everyone else went flying over the barren planet, red aftermaths streaking behind them in a blur. Sonic was having way too much fun- he then summoned Dashell's power, like Link has suggested, and they were going faster than ever thought possible!

"Toomuchspeed! Toomuchspeed!" wailed Amy, who was rocketing across the ground on Carrie. "Itisprettyfunthough! Woohoo!"

"OMGatree!"

"Whocaresaboutthetree-thatthingjusthitmeinthehead!"

"It'scalledaChoppa-"

"Idon'tcare!"

"Lookabiggreendoor!"

"Agreendoor? Isaythat we should enter it!"

"Uh…Sonic and Amy flew off in that direction though…" Kirby trailed, glancing off to the right.

"Ah, they'll be fine. Maybe they can scope out more of the planet while we investigate the door," shrugged Link. Mario opened the door and poked his head in. Inside was what looked like someone's home inside a cave. A yellow inhabitant of the planet was in there, staring at the people who had just entered his home.

"Bloog…Aren't you fancy. Let me guess…you're hunting the treasure too, right? Well, go look for the elder. He knows stuff about things. Me, I plan on lounging…"

"Well he was certainly helpful!" Zelda exclaimed sarcastically.

"Apparently there's an elder on this planet though…" Tippi trailed. "Maybe he can be of help after all?"

"We'll have to find him first…" grunted Eggman as they exited the cave-house. "They can't make these things easy…"

"I know right?" sighed Kirby while shaking his head.

"Where exactly did Sonic and Amy go- it's a dead end!" Link noticed. "There's two pipes below that don't work, and no way forward, yet they're gone!"

Mario figured there was more that meets the eye, and took control. When he, Link, and Kirby flipped into 3-D, a hidden path was accessible, and led straight into a hole in the dead-end wall that was invisible in 2-D.

"They must have gone this way…" Kirby trailed, walking down the thin path. Once they removed control and reverted back to 2-D, Amy ran up to them.

"GUYS! Sonic's been paralyzed!" she wailed.

"Say what? !"

"We had crashed into a wall up ahead when time slowed back down and then this paralyzing whip came out of _nowhere_ and shocked him in the back!"

"Man, everything bad really does happen to him-"

"Kirby! This is serious! Besides, more bad things happen to _me_," Link scoffed. He turned to Amy. "Where is he now?"

"Over there, lying on the ground. Hurry!"

Most of the group was quick to follow Amy, with the villains being the only ones to take note of a door that was just below where the were. Everyone else apparently disregarded it for the moment, and found Sonic sprawled out on the ground in a crater next to a Boing-Oing. While Kirby beat up the enemy, Zelda asked Sonic what had happened.

"This…whip came out of nowhere and gave me the shock of a lifetime!" Sonic gaped. "And no, that wasn't a joke. I can't move…wah…"

"Where could the whip possibly have appeared from?" Ganondorf asked. "It's all wall!"

"Sometimes even walls may lie," Link stated, flipping into 3-D again. Mario was quick to follow, and sure enough, there was a hole in the wall where something could have easily tazed Sonic. Mario stuck his head in, and he could have sworn he saw something running away. He quickly took control then ran through the hole, Kirby and an off-kilter Sonic flipping as well and following.

"What is it, Mario? What's going on?" Link asked. Mario gave no answer and starting jumping up, leaping back and forth from wall to wall, working his way up. He knew he had saw something…

"Whoa, I know this'll sound weird coming from me, but can we slow down?" Sonic groaned, nearly stumbling over with Amy quickly grabbing him for support. Mario shook his head and bounded over the edge of the wall.

"Huh, what got into him?" murmured Bowser. Peach just tilted her head. A door was up ahead, and Mario was quick to enter through.

. . .

"Dude, please slow down…I'm feeling as weak as I was after being beaten by the Armored Harriers for the tenth time!" Sonic exclaimed, falling to the ground with a defeated groan. Mario nodded and told everyone to stop- it was a dead end for whatever he was chasing anyway. However when he looked below, he instantly face palmed.

"There's a bunch of ? Blocks here…" Eggman trailed as he and his bashed them all. When Bowser struck the last one, a Mega Star popped out and Ganondorf absorbed it. All three of them exchanged glances before breaking out into a grin with one word on their minds: destruction.

"Oh great…" groaned Link.

"8-bit bigness time!" cheered Kirby.

"Which isn't really a good thing when it's the villains that have the power…" Peach stated unsurely. Bowser broke out into a mad cackle as he grew ten times his size, turning into an 8-bit version of himself while Eggman and Ganondorf did the same.

"They are so repulsive- especially Ganondorf," jeered Zelda with her arms folded.

"But their power must increase ten-fold when they're that size!" gasped Amy.

"RAMPAGE!" Ganondorf shouted as he tore through everything in that particular area. "YEAH!"

"GRARGH! I'm slower than usual!" complained Bowser, barely making a dent in the destruction. "What, am I suddenly made of lead or something?"

"I can move just fine," Eggman stated lightly, grinning as he took out any enemies he came in contact with. Mario made a notion for the rest of the group to follow, and so they jumped away from the door (except Sonic, who rolled himself over the edge then later admitted it wasn't a good idea).

Mario saw the blue flash once again, but it went as quickly as he had seen it.

When they reached the other side, and Team BEG's brief mega-ness wore off, Mario spotted a door on a high ledge. They could get up here without any problems thanks to the lowered gravity.

"Hey, cool another-DAH!"

"Another Dah?"

"Link!" Zelda screamed as he apparently suffered the same shocking fate as Sonic. Everyone ran to his side, except the villains who continued to complain that they were too slow. Mario noticed another flash of blue suddenly fall onto the ledge with the door, holding a gun that was pointed at the group. The holder of the gun was breathing deeply.

"Hey…who's that?" Sonic asked, looking up and seeing the gun holder as well. Everyone glanced in said direction, but the figure jumped up, flipped above them, and landed behind them.

"Well, well, well…what do we have here?" it said, approaching them with a hidden minute smile. The entire group just gaped as she strutted up to them. Her blonde hair draped her face and shoulders, which she quickly fixed by brushing all but two strands behind her ears.

With a closer inspection, it was obvious she was Samus.

"Holy crow! That's Samus?" Link gawked, staring with wide eyes. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that she was shooting at us-"

"You took _me _by surprise…" Samus explained, putting the gun away and folding her arms. "After what I've been through I'm afraid to let my guard down…especially when I saw people that looked like you."

"Geez, Sammy looked so attractive that I didn't even know it was her!" Sonic called. Amy overheard and promptly smacked Sonic over the head.

"Is this another friend of yours?" Tippi asked.

"Yes- she's the one that Sonic brought up earlier," Peach explained. The atmosphere around them slowly seemed to get odd as they noticed something…different about Samus. Not just the fact her hair was actually down for once, but more likely the fact that she was sporting a light blue body suit rather that a metallic orange suit of mass destruction.

"Miss Aran…what happened to your Power Suit, if I may ask?" Eggman wanted to know, asking the question no one else dared to mention.

"Yeah, without it on you're a lot prettier-"

Amy tackled Sonic to the ground and went crazy. Everyone stepped away from the duo and focused all their attention on Samus. She was noticeably starting to get a bit unstable.

"I assume you know…about the Void if you're here…" she started slowly, voice faltering. Everyone nodded.

"Yeah, that's the whole reason we're here," Link explained.

"I went to investigate…thinking that it was just another black hole…when **he** appeared…"

"He?"

"Who he?"

Samus just shook her head.

"Samus, who was it?"

Samus stared fiercely at the ground, gritting her teeth, before snapping her head up and spitting out, "A guy named Dimentio…"

Everyone broke out into an uproar.

"Dimentio did that to you?" Sonic guffawed, shoving Amy away to gape at Samus.

"He got to you too?" Peach gasped.

"If we see that creep again, I'm going to burn him into dust…" trailed Ganondorf while clenching a fist.

"I tried to attack him with my Zero Laser…but it had no effect at all!"

"Holy cow, that's terrible!" Kirby wailed.

"I used the laser too long…it got stuck…and then my suit couldn't contain it and it shattered into eleven pieces…" Samus continued, barely wanting to recall the tragic event. "I almost died…but for whatever reason Dimentio saved me and sent me to this planet, and I've been trying to look for pieces of my suit, mainly my helmet and my arm cannon…but all I found was my right arm so far…"

"You poor thing!" Zelda gasped, kneeling by her side and putting her hair back up in its original ponytail style. "No wonder you're so lost and confused!"

"I thought he was playing another trick on me which is why I went after you guys…" Samus continued to explain. "Sorry about that…I didn't want to take any chances.

"It's fine- that's something you would do anyway," Sonic shrugged. "In other words, good to see ya again, Sam!"

"It's actually good to see you guys too, you know…" Samus sighed. "It's been pretty quiet in my part for awhile…"

"We have to stop meeting each other like this," Peach stated.

"Huh?"

"There's a ton of things that happened," Eggman explained, scratching his head. "I'm not entirely filled in, though…"

"Neither am I," Zelda added once she was finished with Samus' hair.

"Hmm…hey Samus, would you mind handing me the piece of the Power Suit you managed to find?" Eggman asked.

"Why are you so interested in it?" Sonic questioned, giving the doctor a sideways glance.

"It doesn't matter to me; it's useless anyway…" Samus sighed, handing the piece to Eggman. Eggman took it into his possession, then put out his ray and aimed it at it.

"Okay, better change to scan first…"

He hit the small switch, then pulled the trigger. Everyone, especially Samus, watched as his laser gathered data, then sent it to the small screen on his remote control for his mech. Eggman nodded, then pulled it out and looked at what it said.

"Yes, the rest of the pieces of your Power Suit haven't been scattered too far away from each other, and since you have one, there's ten other parts to find. Once all your parts are back together, your Power Suit should automatically reform and you can don it once more."

"Really? That's good to hear, I guess…but how am I supposed to find them?"

"With the help of us, perhaps?" Peach suggested, smirking.

"I don't want to drag you guys into my own problem, certainly after I attacked you-"

"What are friends for?" Kirby cheered. "SAMUS GLOMP!"

Before Samus could even respond, Kirby jumped on her back and smothered her in a hug.

"So…you guys are willing to help me?"

"Of course! Even though you'll gain back your cannon and blast us to pieces…" replied Sonic cheekily.

"We'd be bound to run into a part of your Power Suit either way anyway!" Link pointed out.

"Besides, you could stick with us," Amy added. "You can't go wandering around space when you're vulnerable like this!"

"I'm not _that_ vulnerable," Samus scolded, standing back up and pulling out her gun. "Didn't you see how easily I wiped out Sonic and Link with this thing?"

Sonic and Link muttered something under their breath.

"So will you be joining us?" Bowser groaned, looking up at the sky and hardly acknowledging her. Samus revved up her weapon and nodded.

"It probably wouldn't be very smart if I didn't…"

"(Zero Suit) Samus has joined the team! Lacking a Power Suit, Samus must currently rely on a stun-gun, a paralyzer whip, and her combat skills. When Team Mario takes control, she can enter the third-dimension. Due to lacking her suit, Samus currently has no battle ability."

Samus gave Link a look and raised an eyebrow. "…what was that?"

"Intro. We all get one, except Peach," Kirby shrugged.

"Well, anyway, you might as well brief me of your current standing…" Samus sighed folding her arms. "What are you people up to at the moment?"

Amy stepped forward and instantly went into theatrics explaining the entire situation to Samus, starting from just how the void got into the sky in the first place, then about how they were all sent to different dimensions, then about what happened to Zelda, and all their previous adventures toward getting Pure Hearts. By the time Amy was reaching the end of her story, Samus was drooling and her eye was twitching before she decided to turn to Mario.

Mario: Trying to find an elder to get off this planet.

"Thank you. Now…an elder you say? I know where he's at."

"You do? Where?" Peach asked excitedly.

Samus pointed to the door on the ledge. "Through there. There's a green door that leads to his house. I know because I've nearly turned this planet upside down looking for pieces of my Power Suit. Perhaps with your help, I can find pieces that I wasn't able to before…"

"At least what you're doing sounds more interesting than what were doing," Ganondorf stated gruffly. "Were trying to get some guy in an outhouse some toiler paper while our green squid thing is doing a potty dance."

"Green squid thing?"

"Yeah…he says his name is Squirps," Link explained. Samus placed a hand to her chin as she made her way to the door on the ledge.

"Really? Sounds familiar, actually…"

"You might know who Squirps is?" nearly everyone gasped. Samus held up her hands and shook her head.

"Easy people. Let's slow down and think this through first…one thing at a time, and I'm guessing the first thing we need to do is get to the elder of the planet."

"And your Power Suit pieces?"

"We'll keep an eye out. I've combed the place but it won't hurt to double check anyway. Let's get to it. I think I know my way around here pretty well by now."

If Samus knew what she was doing, like Sonic had suggested, then who was Mario to refrain her from helping, especially since she was willing to do so? In fact, he was so thrilled that the final member of his team had made a comeback that he wanted her to feel as welcome as ever. Mario made a gesture for to carry on and received a nod in return. Samus made an epic jump onto the platform and motioned for the rest of the group to follow her through the door.

. . .

"Whoa, what are those things?" Amy asked, seeing pink "radio heads" walking around.

"They're called Boomboxers," Samus explained, jumping down and taking them out with her paralyzer whip and a well-placed kick.

"I think I crushed one of those during our super short rampage," recalled Ganondorf. "They are so annoying…"

The small trek continued on, mainly with Samus explaining things about the planet and taking out the enemies. She explained that she had been incredibly weak when she landed, but also mentioned that she seemed to be adapting well without her suit. When they reached a rather tall pipe, she threw up her hands, and swapped into 3-D. Kirby instantly claimed a candy bar (appropriately named "Space Food") and returned back to the second dimension.

"Is that the door you were talking about, Samus?" Tippi asked, seeing a green door on a high ledge.

"Yup, that's it. I don't think we'd all fit in there, though…"

"We should go, just in case there's something dangerous in there," Link said cautiously, referring to Team Mario.

"We can't go in just because there might be something dangerous?" Zelda huffed. "We can take care of ourselves!"

"I'm just looking out for ya…"

"And since Samus claims that's where the old man lives, we can't send Team BEG in there," added Sonic.

"And why not?" questioned Eggman.

"Do we even need to recall the goldfish incident?" Kirby retaliated with folded arms.

That did it, Team Mario was the one to go in. Mario was the first to space-leap onto the large pipe, then continued his bounding onto the door platform. Link, Kirby, Sonic, and Samus were quick to follow after. When Mario opened the door and poked his head through, he found the elder…who was a purple creature with bushy cloud-like eyebrows.

"Those eyebrows are sure-fire proof of an elder if I ever seen one," Kirby stated, sitting on Mario's head while he peeked through the door. Mario made a small face before stepping into the room with Kirby rolling onto the floor. Sonic scratched his head.

"…does that even make sense?"

"Not really sure- let's just ask the guy what he knows."

"Careful- you know how old people are…" Samus warned.

"Isn't that the truth…" trailed Link. Mario took their words into consideration as he walked up to the elder, perched high in his chair.

Mario: Hi!

Kirby: Hiiiiiiii!

"Greetings, young explorers…Welcome to this remote land. You must be bushed, blooog…" the elder rambled. "I'm what's known as an active senior explorer. The name's Blappy. I'm 72."

"WOW, that IS old!" gasped Kirby.

"In my youth, while everyone hunted for snacks, I hunted the Big Treasure of Space. It's big. It's treasure. And it will be mine at last! I found a clue in the space ruins! So, explorer to explorer…I'll cut you a deal, bloog…This clue for 1,000 coins! YOU BUY IT!"

"We can't even hold 1,000 coins!" squawked Sonic. "Are you crazy?"

Mario: Too rich for my blood.

"What? Too expensive! Well, maybe a little, bloog…hackpth! Bleepth! Sorry. I've got a touch of lard-lung. Anyway, I'll cut you a deal: how's 100 coins?"

Mario: You're shady…

"Don't try to go too low," said Samus.

"How low can you go? How low can you go?" sang Kirby while dancing around.

"Why aren't you looking for the treasure yourself anyway?" Link inquired. Blappy looked offended.

"I'm old! I'm portly! And I DID look. Bloog! I just didn't find anything…Blaaapth! Uh, I mean, fine. 10 coins."

Mario: I'll buy it!

Blappy gave Mario the scroll, and the plumber suddenly had four faces peering over his shoulders to get a look at what it said.

"By rock man's noggin, when outer space is reversed, the door secret hides…" Samus recited.

"I'm through with you, bloog. Go home now!"

**Back Outside-**

"So, did you find anything useful?" Peach asked.

"Nah, just got insulted by the elderly. The usual," shrugged Link.

"You must be kidding!" Zelda exclaimed.

"He is- we got a paper with a clue on it, saying something about reversing outer space, whatever that means," Sonic explained with a shrug.

"…this may be a long shot, but could it have something to do with that dimensional rift?" Tippi wondered. "Though if that has anything to do with anything, then we'd need to find a way to, sort of, flip it."

"And we still need to get Squirps into the bathroom," added Amy.

"There's no way the kid held it in that long!" barked Bowser.

"If he had an accident, I'll fry him if he gets too close to me," Ganondorf growled.

**Back at Squirps and the Really Weirdly Placed Outhouse-**

After a massive amount of backtracking and a small mini-adventure involving slow flowers, faster flowers, square caterpillars, and a meaningless inhabitant, the group returned to where they had left Squirps. On the way back, Mario took note of the white rip above the statue's head again, then quickly hurried to catch up with his friends.

To their relief, but not necessarily Squirp's, he didn't have an accident.

"All right, so may I please be informed of why there's a green squid dancing crazily in front of a really weirdly placed outhouse?" Samus asked, staring at Squirps with a raised eyebrow.

"He has to go to the bathroom," grumbled Sonic.

"And apparently whoever's in there has been hogging the only bathroom of the planet for at least one hundred years," added Bowser. "Guess he didn't have much of a life."

"Why?"

"He needs paper, we are led to believe," Zelda sighed, rubbing her temples.

"Squirps is gonna explode soon!"

_"Any paaaaper, please, amore? Just a sheet for me, amore! Implore, implore, amore! Paaaapes, papes, amore! Love the papes, amore! Oh more, oh more, amore!"_

Samus scratched the back of her head and pulled out the Ancient Clue. "Uh…would this work?"

"You're willing to let someone use an Ancient Clue with valuable information to be used as a substitute for toilet paper?"

"Do any of you have any better ideas?"

Mario: Nope. *swipes*

He took the paper from Samus, then slid it through the crack of the door. Whoever was in there burst out into song once more.

_"Fleep has a-waited for you! At last we meet, mi amore! My sweeeet, sweeeet paper!"_

Insert flushing sound.

_"And now we do part, amore! For down you depart, amore! No more, no more, amore!"_

"Sq-Squirps can't take it anymore! Squirps will burst! Evacuate all personnel!"

Squirps plowed through the crowd and blasted through the door, slamming it shut behind him just as the occupier flew out.

"RELIEF!"

"It's a Pixl! A weird, rectangular Pixl!"

"Eet's a paper miracle! Fleep is a-fleeing good! You bring Fleep the happy? Fleep has been awaiting so long for you, amore! Si, for this momento!"

"We've got a Spanish Pixl! ?"

"We Pixls are helpful tools, si? But we choose no masters, be they good or bad! Still, Fleep has the passion to be used for something, so… Fleep waited here, amore! And you found Fleep, amore! Oh, thank you deep, amore!"

"Can we get going now, amore?" groaned Samus.

"From this momento, you and Fleep are as one! We shall never part! Fleep follows you, amore! Companion true, amore!"

"How unfortun- OW! It wasn't necessary for you to punch me…" grunted Ganondorf, rubbing his arm and glaring at Zelda. Fleep, meanwhile, spun around in sparkly circles around Mario, making it official that he had joined their team. As Mario held the new Pixl over his head, he asked who wanted possession of Fleep.

"I don't even really know what that is…" trailed Samus.

"Ooh, I'll take him!" Eggman exclaimed, waving his arms rapidly. Fleep seemed content with that and floated over into the doctor's palms. "…now what does he do?"

"On the back side of the sad is the happy! We will find it! You and Fleep, amore!"

"Are you saying you can…flip things?" Tippi asked. Fleep nodded.

"Because there's no way he's call "Fleep" for nothing!"

"Si! Si! I can find hidden objects in separate dimensions!"

Mario: Just what we needed!

"Cool! Now we can possibly move forward!" cheered Thoreau.

"This is great, seriously!" Dashell exclaimed.

"Is that all y'all used for?" asked Slim.

"I think he's got more girth than just for doing that," scoffed Thudley.

"Is it true? Is there more that you can do?" Carrie practically sang.

"I can also confuse enemies with my magnifico flipping powers, amore!"

Slim fluttered around excitedly. "How thrilling!"

"I'm way better, sss-BOOM!" bellowed Boomer.

"So, if what you say is true…" mused Eggman, watching Fleep intently. "…then I suppose we'd better head back to that rip, huh?"

"We can finally figure out what's behind that thing!" threw in Kirby.

Amy jumped on Carrie and was already off. "Let's get to it! C'mon!"

Samus watched Amy ride away on Carrie, then shook off her stare and started to follow, until the sound of a flush rang out and Squirps emerged from the bathroom.

"Phew…Squirps needed that. OK! Let's go look for the entrance to the Space Bypass, squibble!"

"Hmmm…" Samus pondered, taking a closer look a Squirps. "I really do think I've read about his kind somewhere, but I can't remember what it said…"

"Is there any chance he might be luring us into a trap?" Ganondorf asked almost too eagerly. Samus shook her head.

"No, his race is a kind-hearted and innocent one, that much I know…"

"Plus I already claimed that his intentions were good," Sonic added. "I'm just not sure of what they are…"

Mario glanced down at Squirps, who simply gave a grin and started heading off. The plumber raised an eyebrow at this action, but made no comment on it and led the gang back to the rock statue. When they got there, Kirby and Amy were waiting anxiously.

"Okay, let's give Fleep a try…"

Eggman traced a square in the air, then pointed at the sparkling white rip. Fleep used his powers to flip it, and brought the key to the door into their dimension.

"Whoa, that was amazing…" gaped Barry as Mario scooped up the key.

"Meh, it wasn't _that_ impressive," snorted Bowser.

"We can finally get past that locked door we keep walking by…" trailed Zelda.

"Thank goodness- one can only handle so much backtracking…"

. . .

Once they had returned to, and unlocked, the door, Mario took a step into the previously unreachable part of the tiny planet. A ton of Fuzzies were bouncing around something under a rather large blue rainbow-hued tree.

"That's some of the only plant life on this planet," Samus mused. "There's a few greenery here and there, but otherwise its completely barren…"

"What are those Fuzzies jumping around though?" Link asked, trying to see. "Must be something interesting…"

"I've got it!" Zelda called. She cast a hand out toward the Fuzzies and shouted, "DIN'S FIRE!"

Almost instantly, the black soul-sucking creatures burst into flames, scrambling around before succumbing to a fiery death. Peach spotted what they were surrounding, and trotted over to pick it up.

"Hey Samus, isn't this your helmet?" she asked, observing the object. At the sound of a potential piece of her Power Suit, Samus ran over and looked over Peach's shoulder.

"YES! That's it!" she suddenly cried, swiping it out of Peach's grasp and placing it on her head. "At least now I'll be able to journey into space to look for some pieces without having to worry about my air supply…"

"I wonder why the Fuzzies were so interested with it," pondered Kirby.

"Probably because they haven't seen anything like this before," Samus guessed. "Now there's only nine more parts to find…"

"And there's only one way to find some more!" Sonic claimed, nudging Mario over to the nearby Star Block. Mario gave a nod in return, then trotted over and gave the block a whack.

. . .

Mario and friends headed to the Space Bypass in search of the Pure Heart. How did Squirps know about this secret route? Our heroes stared suspiciously at him.

"Why are you staring like that?" said Squirps. "Are you falling for Squirps? !"

In the darkness of space, the eyes of Squirps glinted mischievously…

* * *

**Samus returns IN SPACE! How totally unpredictable! 8D (and now Chapter 4 is halfway over! Hooray!)**


	27. The Gates of Space

Super Paper Mario X

Chapter 26: The Gates of Space

"This is the Space Bypass!" Squirps announced loudly, once they were in what could be described as the middle of nowhere once again. "Yeah, from somewhere in here, we can enter the Whoa Zone."

"The Whoa Zone?" gaped Samus. "Oh sweet mother…"

"Is something wrong?" asked Zelda.

"The Whoa Zone…things go in, they get lost forever, and they never find the way back out because its mazes are so mind bending and brain twisting…" Samus rambled. "I take it Squirps is leading us there because the Pure Heart is at the center…the Ancients hid it well then, since I doubt anyone could reach it."

"Anyone that isn't _us," _Sonic protested. "But before we go "whoa", we've got to get through the Bypass first…"

"Just thinking about the Whoa Zone makes my head spin…" groaned Samus. "Hopefully none of my pieces got lost in there…"

"Like Sonic said, we'll never know until we get through this bypass," Amy stated.

"C'mon, space grunts! Let's find the entrance, squeeork!"

"The "Whoa Zone"? You simply must be kidding me…" huffed Tippi. "I demand answers…"

"What, wasn't my explanation enough?" grunted Samus. Squirps, on the other hand, whirled around and practically looked Tippi in the eye.

"It's a prohibited zone, squirp. Some call it the "Space Graveyard" squoooork. It's a complicated maze…They say that once you go in, you can never get back out…And supposedly, the Pure Heart is hidden at the very back of that maze, squinkly!"

"See? I was close."

Tippi narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "How would you know that? Who are you REALLY, you incontinent little imp?"

"Tippi! My goodness, I've never seen you so hostile to anyone before!" Peach exclaimed.

"Yeah, I know the punk's annoying, but it's not really in your range to be all dark like that…" trailed Ganondorf.

"You're a rainbow butterfly!" cried Kirby. "Those are two of the ultimate signs of pure kindness!"

"I just-"

Tippi was interrupted by a growl emerging from Squirps' stomach.

"I made some room with that pit stop! Now I'm hungry! But don't worry about that, Space Grunts. Find the Whoa Zone entrance, squibble!"

And with that, the group instantly got to work. Mario did have to admit, he was interested in the Whoa Zone, especially if both Squirps and Samus claimed it to be utterly perplexing. He had a feeling Samus knew what she was doing and could probably get them through if they ran into trouble…he felt the same way about Squirps, however just not as confident…

Meanwhile, while Mario was musing to himself, Team BEG was doing some serious demolition to any brick blocks that got in their way. During the destruction spree, Eggman had taken out several Jelliens and Bowser had claimed a Shooting Star item. Everyone else was on the hunt for a stray piece of Samus' suit.

"Eggman said they didn't go too far…" Samus trailed, jerking her head in every direction. "There's gotta be one around here!"

"Well, you can't just expect one to pop out of nowhere, either," Sonic stated.

"Hey, lookie! I found part of your arm!" Kirby suddenly cried, holding up said piece. "Man, what are the odds?"

"Thanks Kirby!" Samus space-swam over and took it from him while Sonic blinked.

"I stand corrected."

"It's the upper part of my left arm…where'd you find it?"

Kirby pointed ahead to where several spinning rectangles were all grouped together in a bunch. "Over there in-between those spinning thingies…just don't touch them, cuz they really hurt-"

"OW! What the heck was THAT?" roared Ganondorf, who was attempting to get through the field of flipping shapes. "It touched me and somehow shocked me!"

"Then it made this weird noise…" Bowser moaned, shaking his head. "My ears are still ringing…"

"Yup, best to stay away from those, squirp. They look harmless, but they are lethal! They kill."

Tippi gave Squirps a weird look as she tried to make sense of the situation. "So those barrier things have the potential to kill us?"

"Oh, fun…obstacle course of death," moaned Link.

"Just be careful everyone…" Peach warned, being the first to venture in (while the villains were recovering from the small shocks). Eggman, on the other hand, pulled out his remote control and hit the center button.

"I'm pretty sure I can blow these stupid things up…then they won't get in anyone's way, including mine!"

"What are you doing? Those things are indestructible!" Amy exclaimed.

"Not to mention you're going to fire lasers and whatnot while everyone is trying to make their way through!" snapped Zelda.

"Quiet woman, I know what I doing!"

"I _never_-"

Once Eggman was situated in his mech, he instantly flipped the caps on the steering wheel and placed his thumbs on the firing buttons.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Fleep asked. Eggman nodded intently.

"Don't question my genius-"

"Everyone run for your life!" shouted Amy. Everyone glanced over their shoulders to see torrents stick out of the sides of Eggman's machine, and a mass of lasers and missiles flying in all directions. Eggman was confident his barrage would be enough to take out the Hedrons (as they were called), but to his unfortunate shock all his attacks simply bounced off and went flying in even more unpredictable directions.

"…okay, _not_ one of my better ideas-"

"Someone get me off this thing!" wailed Kirby riding on a missile.

"Ah! Ah! AUGH!"

Link held up his shield, hoping to reflect a few of the lasers, but got blasted away anyway by a missile. Mario wasted no time in hightailing it out of the danger zone now made more dangerous. He found out that if you were quick enough, then you could jump on the Hedrons without taking any damage. Sonic caught on to that as well and started bounding through the barriers like a pinball.

"Eggman is such an idiot," growled Peach, reflecting any projectiles with her umbrella.

"I can hear you!" the doctor yelled. "Why do you people think I'm deaf?"

"Because you never listen," grumbled Zelda, surrounded by Nayru's Love.

"I found a Super Shroom!" called Bowser, holding it above his head. "Now I can finally-"

"Give me that!" shouted Link, Amy, Kirby (still on the missile), and Ganondorf, all making their way to him. Bowser snorted and prepared to eat it, but his Shroom was intercepted by Kirby, who claimed it for Team Mario.

"That's not fair! Your team has the least amount of damage!" complained Amy.

"So? Your team didn't even take any damage!" Link protested. "…though _I_ wanted to get it, Kirby…"

"Nobody still has found a way to get me off this thing!"

"Can someone help me?" groaned Samus, just about bending over backward trying to avoid the Hedrons. "This is a lot harder than it looks…"

She flipped into 3D, seeing that he Hedrons were still there, but were at least somewhat easier to maneuver around.

"Argh, these things keep hitting me in the head…" Eggman muttered, trying to get him and his mech through the maze.

"At least your "rain of terror" has ended," shrugged Link.

"…that was a pun, wasn't it?"

"Yup! I thought it was pretty clever myself-"

"Too bad no rain was involved."

"I meant that you rained the area with lasers and- oh, never mind…"

Mario used Squirps' laser beam power to blast at a few more Jelliens, then finally made it past the herd of Hedrons. Sonic was right behind him, followed by Samus.

"Do you think the others are going to get out okay?" Samus asked.

"Yup," Sonic replied brightly. "And I have to say…without your Suit, you're a lot softer. How weird."

Samus twitched. "What is _that_ supposed to mean?"

Sonic shrugged. "Usually you're all snappy and borning and blunt like that, but, I dunno…didja change while we were gone, or is it really the lack of your suit?"

"How am I supposed to know? I don't have a clue about what you're talking about Nic…"

"Suuuure Sam. _Sure_."

"Grr…you're impossible!"

"Thank you!"

While Mario left them to their bickering (and also wondering what Sonic was trying to imply), he noticed a red-purple X in the middle of nowhere…just floating there. Now that was really peculiar. He gave it a poke, though nothing happened. What did it mean? Then he recalled how maybe their new Pixl could help, but he was in the possession of Eggman…

Great.

"What's wrong Mario?" Samus and Sonic asked simultaneously. Mario pointed toward the red X, then pointed at Eggman. Both caught on to the problem.

"Well, we'll just have to wait until the egghead makes his way over here," said Sonic. "…I don't think I can wait that long."

"He's right there-"

"Remind me to never do that again," huffed Eggman. "I made it harder than necessary…"

"Glad you realized that!" Kirby shouted, jumping off the missile right before it exploded. The rest of the gang started to arrive as Mario told Eggman what he needed to do.

"…you want me to flip the random red X?"

"Makes sure he doesn't find some way to mess that up," sniffed Amy, arms folded and glaring darkly. Eggman gave her a look while tracing a rectangle around the X, then using Fleep's power to flip it. However, instead of an object from a separate dimension popping out, the area around them began to shake.

"I knew it! Never trust randomly placed X's! Especially when they're red!"

"Ahem, take a closer look," Ganondorf told Kirby. He gestured toward the green lines that were drawing themselves into existence, only stopping when they had formed the shape of two metallic rectangles.

One with a small hole in it, in the shape of Squirps.

"Well that certainly isn't odd…" Zelda trailed sarcastically, investigating the slot.

"How come it looks like you, Squirps?" Tippi asked testily. Squirps shifted in Mario's grip.

"It IS a lovely shape…I don't know why, but I want to be squeezed in there! Someone squish me in there!"

"…I still can't get over how it's practically meant for him," Tippi murmured. "But, someone squish him in there…"

"Maybe he'll get stuck!" Bowser said hopefully.

"Either way, I'm not doing it," Ganondorf replied stubbornly. Mario rolled his eyes and squished Squirps into the hole, seeing as how no one else was going to do it.

"SQEEEZIRP!"

Rumbling commenced once again, and with a double check, a door appeared between the two metallic rectangles.

"What is this thing?" Tippi asked.

"I demand answers…" Bowser mocked in a high-pitched voice, only to receive a glare from Peach and a look from Tippi.

"It's a Space Gate, squirp! These lead from the Space Bypass to the Whoa Zone! Through this gate is the way forward, space grunts!"

"Okay, so he knows that these gates lead to where were going, he's confident in WHERE we going, and to top it all off he pretended like he didn't have a clue about that hole!" Tippi accused. "That's way too suspicious for me…"

"He is telling the truth, though. The Gates of Space lead right to the Whoa Zone," Samus pointed out.

"And you say this Whoa Zone has never been escaped from…doesn't that sound kind of like a trap?"

"I trust him," Samus said flatly, opening the gate and herding everyone through.

"Why do you, though?" Eggman questioned, raising an eyebrow. "This creature has done nothing but give us reason to not trust him…"

Samus smirked. "That's exactly why I do trust him. Just because he seems suspicious doesn't make him a bad guy."

"She has a point," Sonic spoke up.

"I agree as well," added Peach. "Sorry, Tippi…"

"Yeah, he really doesn't seem like he's got any evil plans in mind for us," stated Link. "I think we'll be okay."

Mario: Uh-huh!

Tippi sighed. "Okay, okay, if you really say so…"

"Now, where do we go next?" Amy asked, getting everyone to focus again.

"There's another red X over there," spotted Zelda, pointing to said object a small distance away. "Do you think it's another gate?"

"Let's find out," Eggman said, using Fleep's powers once more. Once again, two green lines drew themselves into existence, but the only problem was that both of the newly created rectangles had Squirps-shaped holes.

"Uh…"

"Another wonderful shape!" yelped Squirps. "I feel another compulsion… Must…get…twisted…into…there! Someone twist me in!"

"Will it even work?" Zelda asked. "I mean, there's another Squirps shape on the other side…"

"Yeah, and last time I checked, we only have one Squirps!" exclaimed Kirby.

"…I probably shouldn't have twisted him in then, huh?" Amy asked while sweat dropping.

"AMY!"

"Sorry! Sorry! I wasn't paying attention! Wah…"

"Something…something's missing, squirk…" Squirp suddenly rambled, squirming around in the small space. "Definitely…I can't shake it…There's only one solution…"

"42?"

"Squirps must eat something yummy! Squirps will not move until Squirps eats something good! This I declare, squoooork!"

"…does he expect us to go hunt down some delectable snack for him while we're stranded in the middle of space?" guffawed Link. "That's absolutely ridiculous! It's not like there's a Space Mart around the corner of the next star or something!"

"Actually there might be," Samus shrugged. "I recall this particular sector of space having a store somewhere around here."

"Does anyone _else_ feel like our lives just fall into place?" Sonic groaned.

"Sometimes."

Samus folded her arms. "Anyway, I'm guessing that store will be our best bet. Any objections?"

"Better question- does anyone else have any better ideas?" Bowser asked, staring at everyone. He got ten head shakes in return. "Neither do I- I guess there's no objections."

Samus smiled. "Good. Now, let's go through this purple wormhole since that's sort of the only way we can go…"

Mario: Yah.

He dove head first into the portal, this time without Squirps, and Samus followed close behind.

"I still can't believe there's a random shop somewhere around here…" grumbled Link.

. . .

"So, erm, Samus…?"

"Yes?"

"…where're we supposed to go?"

All that was in sight were blue portals (except the one they had arrived from), several clusters of brick blocks, and enemies lingering around. Before Samus could think up some sort of explanation, Eggman's Laser/Scanner started up again.

"Hm…interesting."

"Did you find where we're supposed to go?" Kirby asked. "There's, like, four blue portals!"

"No, but in this particular area are four pieces of Samus' suit."

Samus perked up and was instantly looking over Eggman's shoulder. "Really?"

The doctor nodded. "I'd estimate that when your suit scattered about, some of the pieces were clustered here thanks to the several wormholes loitered about the area, which makes for a convenient pickup."

"Why are you so interested in her suit anyway?" huffed Sonic suspiciously. "Ever since she arrived you've been all over the situation!"

"At least he's trying to help me get my suit back together," Samus sniffed right back. "I can't last very long without it, you know."

Sonic rolled his eyes and headed off in a random direction. "Whatever…just find your pieces. I'm going to look for that chocolate store!"

"I think we're lost because I don't even know which one is the right one!" wailed Kirby.

"I don't know either!" panicked Link. "We're definitely in for it!"

"Panicking certainly won't get us anywhere," Zelda stated calmly.

"Zelda, Amy, Eggman, and I will help Samus look for her pieces," Peach explained. "The rest of you can go find the store. We get two things done at once and we can be on our way!"

Mario agreed with Peach's idea instantly, making the princess beam with pride. He gathered up his own team (minus Samus), Bowser, and Ganondorf, then set out on their mission. Samus was all rearing and ready to go, and instantly space-swam around, looking for whichever piece she'd be destined to come in contact with first. Amy decided to look in the blue portal closest to the purple one, Zelda took the one to the lower right part of the area, and Peach, Eggman, and Samus continued to scour the area they were currently in.

. . .

Amy's portal led to several coins, which she gathered up upon sight.

"They should thank me for this- I didn't have to collect these coins," she mused, racking up the riches. When she obtained the final coin, Amy's gaze drifted upward until she caught sight of one of Samus' pieces- one of her massive shoulder pads. "Samus should thank me for this too!"

Amy made her way toward it, then pulled it into her possession. The pink hedgehog looked it over- Samus wasn't exaggerating when she said her shoulder pads were huge. Amy wondered just what the purpose of it was, but she asked no questions and returned to Samus, eager to show her the find.

. . .

Zelda's portal was seemingly harmless, until the princess glanced over her shoulder at the sea of Hedrons and Fotons behind her. She sighed heavily and prepared to battle and dodge at the same time.

"Of course I chose the one that is somewhat complicated," she mumbled to herself, venturing slowing into the spinning Hedron traps. She slunk right between two, then quick lashed out with a Din's Fire that distorted any Fotons that were unfortunate enough to get caught in the blast. The other Fotons who had witnessed the fall of their friend responded by rapidly sending out projectiles of their own. Zelda surrounded herself with Nayru's Love until they had all dispersed, then continued making her way through. With Din's Fire charging up again, Zelda settled for a couple of doses of Farore's Wind to knock any enemies out of her way.

On the other side was another blue portal…and one of the main pieces of the power suit, the body of it all. Zelda smiled and grabbed it without any hesitation.

"What do you know? Eggman was right." She started to head into the portal. "Now I've just got to get this back to Samus…"

. . .

Samus, armed with only her pistol, took on the several aliens and creatures that lurked about the area. Some took a few hits to defeat, which made Samus miss her beloved arm cannon even more.

"Sigh…I can't wait to get it back. When I do, I'll be able to blow things up in one hit again!"

That right there was certainly one of the more 'positive' things to look forward to. The huntress continued on, leaving no enemy unbeaten and no block unturned- or destroyed. It wasn't until she had drifted toward the upper part of the area, and flipped into 3-D, that she found her chest plate. Samus' eyes widened with surprise and hurried over as fast as she could.

"It's the red piece that goes around my neck!" she announced, even though no one was around to hear her cheers. However, as soon as she obtained it, Amy and Zelda arrived on the scene, clutching the pieces they had collected.

"Look what we've got!" they exclaimed, waving the pieces in the air. Samus genuinely beamed and happily accepted the pieces.

"Hey, you guys managed to do it!" Samus gasped. "Good job!"

"It was nothing," Amy shrugged.

"I'd go through a ton of Hedrons and Fotons again if I had to," added Zelda.

Samus looked over the newly acquired pieces to make sure there wasn't too much damage and simply nodded.

"Thanks…"

**Team Mario-**

"This better be the right one…" Ganondorf growled, as the group entered a portal toward the top right part of that area of space.

"Well, considering there's a Mini-Mart over there, I take it we've found it," Sonic said, jerking a thumb over his shoulder at the unavoidable building in the middle of space. Kirby threw up his arms in excitement, only to unintentionally flip into 3-D.

"Dang…gotta watch that."

Mario made his way over to the mart, stepping through the automatic sliding door and talking to the store keeper. Link, Sonic, Kirby, Bowser, and Ganondorf, naturally, tried to pile their way in as well. The store apparently wasn't built for more than three people.

"At least it's not as crammed as that pipe we tried to get through when we were underwater," sighed Link.

"Don't remind me of that," warned Sonic, giving him a look.

"HAVE A TWINKLY DAY! Welcome to Twinkle Mark! If we're not closed, we're open!" the storekeeper blared, interrupting the conversation with an overexcited greeting. Everyone in the small building managed to turn and stare awkwardly at him. He paid no heed to the odd attention he was drawing and continued his speech…just like he had rehearsed. "WAAAH! I was SO lonely! Since our grand opening, you're our first customer!"

"Dang, tough business," Bowser whistled.

"I think I should have thought more about location when I bought this place…Whatcha lookin' for today? Just grab whatever grabs your eyes, Twinkle Shoppers!"

Mario observed the merchandise- the Twinkle Mart had three types of candy bars: Sweet Choco-Bar, Shroom Choco-Bar, and Golden Choco-Bar. Since they only needed one, Mario was fine with settling for the simple Sweet Choco-Bar, but Kirby was begging him to but the Golden Choco-Bar as well.

"Please Mario! It looks so mouthwateringly delicious!" Kirby begged, just about on his hands and knees.

"That is way too expensive for a simple candy bar," scoffed Sonic. "I've seen bread that costs less!"

"That just means it's of a better quality," Kirby stated in a tone that said it was totally obvious. When he turned back around to plead to Mario some more, to his horror he found out the red plumber had already bought the Sweet Choco-Bar…and Link had, of course, bought the Shroom Choco-Bar. Kirby's jaw dropped.

"WOW! The combination of the tastiness of a Shroom blended with the sweet, creamy feeling of the pure chocolate…they fuse together that make a flavor that's out of this world! Literally!" Link announced.

Kirby twitched. "…can I please have that Golden Choco-Bar?"

Mario: No.

"How come Link got one?"

"I paid for it," the swordsman replied, holding out a green Rupee. "Works every time."

"What was the point of us coming along?" Ganondorf scoffed. Bowser shrugged.

"I dunno, but I'm bored. While we wait for them to make a decision, I say we go destroy the blocks outside of this store."

"Good idea."

The two baddies snuck out of the store while the debate of whether or not to buy a Golden Bar continued. Mario firmly stated that at the price of one hundred coins, it was not worth the delicacy. Kirby continued to defend his claim with the fact that Link had gotten one, but Mario managed to counter THAT by saying Link used his own money.

"Here, Kirby," Link sighed, giving Kirby a Blue Rupee. "He'll take it."

Kirby swiped the jewel out of Link's hand then slapped it on the counter within the same move. The store guy grinned- that was probably worth enough to make him rich, and it was only his first customer! Excited, he gave Kirby not one Golden Choco-Bar, but two. Mario, Link, and Sonic all gaped with disbelief as Kirby automatically shoved one of them into his mouth.

"HA! You guys lose. This is unbelievably, undeniably incredible!"

Mario: …

"Okay then…" Sonic trailed, not sure what to make of that.

"Hey, where'd Bowser and Ganondorf go?" Link suddenly asked. He headed for the door to go find out. The storekeeper raised his hat in gratitude as the heroes took their leave.

"Color me twinkled! It gets lonely here, so promise to stop by again, OK?"

"I will!" cried Kirby.

Once the four of them were outside, they were greeted to a sight of Bowser and Ganondorf on a spree of crushing things and burning them down. It was a miracle the store itself was still intact.

. . .

Peach had looked in the areas that Samus had missed, while Eggman checked for things that may have been overlooked. His scanner had said that there were still two pieces hidden about the area, and he was determined to find him.

"Check out what I found!" Peach's high pitched voice shrieked. Eggman, who was searching to Peach's right, glanced up and saw her waving a Catch Card SP and Samus' second shoulder pad. "That wasn't too hard!"

"Hmph, maybe for you," he huffed back, returning to his search. Peach gave him a disapproving look before returning to Samus. His scanner was going crazy in the upper right area, but he couldn't find anything for the life of him! "Hrrgh…why is it going so insane here…"

"Having any luck?" Zelda's voice called up to him. Eggman's mustache sagged in response. "I'll take that as a no!"

"Well there's certainly a piece somewhere around here…" Eggman huffed. "I just don't understand why I can't locate it!"

"Maybe that's because it's in 3D?" Samus wondered, swapping dimensions to see for herself. Eggman was about to explain how highly illogical that was when she returned with the upper part of her left leg. She smirked at the doctor who now wore a bewildered face.

"Five more down, still four to go…" Samus trailed. "And still no sign of my arm cannon…"

"I'm sure we'll find it," Peach stated helpfully.

"We will find it! No matter what it takes!" Samus declared, even throwing one hand in the air to emphasize the point. Upon doing so, Mario, Link, Sonic, Kirby, Bowser, and Ganondorf came tumbling out of the portal they had entered and crashed into Samus, Peach, and Eggman.

"What in the world-" Zelda began.

"These idiots were going on a rampage for the heck of it!" Link explained hastily, pulling himself out of the pile.

"It's not our fault we grew bored of your endless talk of buying a chocolate bar!" Ganondorf snapped right back.

"It's called a Choco-Bar," Kirby interrupted. Ganondorf growled and swatted at Kirby.

"Oh, who cares?"

"Point is, did you manage to get something for Squirps?" Samus questioned.

Mario: Oh yes!

Sonic produced the Sweet Choco-Bar to show everyone the proof. Kirby also pulled out the second Golden Choco-Bar…before beginning to chow down on that one as well.

"It took more effort than you'd think," Sonic sighed.

"Well now that we have it, we can give it to Squirps and open the gate!" Amy cheered.

"Yeah, then the little green weirdo will end up joining us again…how enjoyable," Bowser groaned, tone dripping with sarcasm.

"Then maybe we can find the rest of my pieces," Samus added, heading back into the purple portal. Mario stopped Ganondorf from bickering with everyone and waited for Kirby to finish his second chocolate bar before following after Samus.

**Squirps and the Gate-**

"Squuuuh….So hungry…Can't move…Well, Squirps CAN move, but so very slowly…Squirps needs to eat something yummy!"

"I'd give you my chocolate bar…but, you know, I ate it," Kirby shrugged.

Mario took the Sweet Choco-bar from Sonic, tore off the wrapper, and fed it to Squirps. The next thing he knew, everyone was crowded around him waiting to see what would happen next.

"Squirps is a _gourmet!_ You think I'd be satisfied by something like this, squoh? But, you went to all this trouble, space grunt, so…I don't want to, but…

Mario felt everyone lean inward as Squirps held the bar to his mouth.

"SQA-CHOMP!"

Silence.

"TH-THIS IS…the chocolate and the nuts melt together, creating a full flavor with a clean finish!" Squirps exclaimed in complete and utter shock. "It's a sweet chocolate sonata written for lovers…IT'S PURE COCOA LOVE!"

"I told you!"

"Shush Kirby!"

Everyone was blasted back when Squirps suddenly started to glow as he shouted. "TOOOOO GOOD!"

"I like chocolate as much as the next guy, but I don't think it was _that_ delicious…" Samus trailed unsurely.

"That's because you never had one from the Twinkle Mart," Kirby retorted.

Squirps floated over to the center of the gate, split himself in two, then filled the slots in the gate with…himself. The gate's door appeared immediately, and Squrips united himself into one once more.

Mario: Uh…

"Squirp! Sorry about that. Squrips got carried away…"

"We could tell," grunted Ganondorf.

"The gate…it's appeared," Tippi stated, pointing out the obvious.

Squirps returned back to Mario's possession and inched him toward the door. "The goal is nigh, squoogle! Let's go, space grunts!"

Mario nodded, then motioned for everyone to go through the gate. On the other side, it was filled with Warpids, brick blocks, and the Star block.

"We made it to the end!" Amy rejoiced. "awesome!"

"We're also that much closer to the Whoa Zone, remember…" Samus reminded everyone as Mario blasted away at everything in sight with Squirps.

"This Whoa Zone won't know what's coming to it!" Bowser blared. "I'll stomp right on through, just you wait!"

"Sure you will, Bowser…" Peach sighed.

"The Whoa Zone…the name already piques my interest about what it'll be like!" Zelda pondered. Link moved next to her and gave a shrug.

"Whatever it's like, I bet it won't be pretty…"

"So let's get a move on!" ordered Sonic, pointing to the Star Block.

Mario was slightly apprehensive about going into the Whoa Zone, but he wasn't sure why…it must have just been paranoia. Shoving his hesitant thoughts to the back of his mind, Mario made contact with the Star block and led his group into the next area.

. . .

Mario and his friends took the Space Byway and merged into the Whoa Zone. Known to some as the Space Graveyard, it was said to consume all who entered it.

"Just a little bit longer…we'll be arriving soon," said young Squirps.

With his unblinking eyes glimmering, Squirps continued to forge onward. Would Mario and his friends get their hands on the Pure Heart at long last?

* * *

**Whoa Zone! Whoa Zone! :D **

**Despised it the first time through, but the second time around...well, it's a lot more fun when you know what you're doing. (Plus the boss! 8) )**


	28. From the Whoa to the Zone

Super Paper Mario X

Chapter 27: From the Whoa to the Zone

Mario: Whoa.

"My words exactly."

The Whoa Zone was named appropriately just by the looks of the entrance- semi-transparent platforms hung in the air, the background was nothing more than a white slate decorated with designs made up of green and blue squares…and that was before they had really even gotten deep into the zone.

"We're here, squeegle! This is the Whoa Zone!" Squrips cried ecstatically. "Squirps has finally arrived, squoogle! SQUIRPS IS HERE!"

"Why are you so happy? Didn't you say that this place couldn't be escaped from?" Zelda asked.

"I knew it! He's just glad that we're all going to die!" Ganondorf yelled.

"If that was the case, I doubt he'd come in here as well," Samus retaliated, making Ganondorf back away in embarrassment.

Squirps just continued his show of being overly happy of reaching a death trap in the middle of space. "…Squirps can't wait! Squirps is going to scurry ahead. Follow Squirps when you can. But remember, space grunts, this place is a super-complicated maze…You'll get lost before you know it, so pay attention to where you're heading, squeeeerp! Well, Squirps will see you guys later…at the spot where the Pure Heart awaits!"

"HEY! Just where do you think you're going?"

"Yeah, you dragged us in here, now drag us through it!"

Squirps didn't hear any of the cries (or pretended not to hear them) and waltzed off into the depths of the Whoa Zone.

"I can't believe that creature left us at a time like this…" Tippi exasperated. "But I must say, I do feel the presence of the Pure Heart…It is somewhere in this zone…"

"Which only proves that Squirps was telling the truth," stated Samus. She then sighed. "And since I'm the only one who remotely knows anything about this place, looks like I'll have to guide us through…"

"Or I'll do it!" Bowser butted in. "I'm pretty sure my awesome skills could come through in a time like this-"

"Another thing that could be helpful is if you shut your trap."

Mario was still getting an uneasy feeling, but if the Pure Heart was definitely at the center of this space maze, then he would do his best to get to it. He was sure that there was nothing to poke around in the first room, so he cautiously opened the first door- which was a green version of the red-rainbow doors they had come to know and hate.

. . .

"Argh! Return of the Tileoids!" Eggman wailed, setting his gun to kill and zapping lasers at the red and yellow Tileoids crawling around. Samus watched him mercilessly dispatch the enemies in the room and sighed.

"I remember the days when I could do that…"

Mario frowned sympathetically at Samus while Kirby, Amy, and Link ran around trying to collect the coins that a Coin Flower has caused. Peach and Sonic had climbed over to the second part of the room, where Sonic obtained a mushroom and Peach found the next door.

Right as she placed a hand on the door, Samus leapt over and jumped in front of her.

"Do you _really_ think that's the right way to go, Peach?"

"W-Well, isn't it the only way?"

Samus smirked. "Not necessarily. If we go through that way first, we'll get stuck almost instantly!"

"What other way is there to go then, Samus?"

"You'll see."

She took control, and then Team Mario teleported into the third dimension. What Peach was unable to see in 3-D was the fact that a hidden door resided on top of the platform above the door she had almost entered. Samus looked quite proud of herself while the rest of her team gawked.

"How did you know…" Link stumbled over his words, not sure what direction he was going with them.

"That's the trick behind the Whoa Zone- the right way to go is hidden where you'd never think to look. Peach was unfortunately the first victim of its cruel ways."

Kirby looked thoughtful. "One of the reasons people never make it out is because-"

"-they aren't the Legendary Heroes," finished Samus, entering the door.

. . .

The next room was larger than the previous one, and once Team Mario removed control, the other two teams got to take a gist of it as well. Amy trotted over to a ? block while Eggman took at aim at another Tileoid. Out of the ? Block came a Slow Flower…which Amy tried to avoid by quickly backing away, but it hit Zelda's foot instead.

"Oh greeeaaaaaat…" groaned Bowser.

"Whaaaaat's goooooing oooon?" questioned Samus.

"Tiiime haaaas beeeeen sloooowed!" Sonic complained, walking around at what would be considered a normal pace. "I haaaaate thiiiis!"

Mario leapt down from where he was, jumping into a small pit where a three-headed pig was slowly pacing around. Tippi explained that it was called a Pigarithm, and it would get smaller and faster with every blow dealt to it. Mario decided to take the chance and landed on its head. It went from three-headed and green to two-headed and light pink, then to having only one head and being turned piggy-pink. When Mario defeated it once and for all, it gave off a ton of huge coins. Fortunately when he finished, time had retuned to normal.

"That's good," Peach stated, pulling out her umbrella. "Now we can take control and get across this gap with no extra problems!"

"Right," added Amy and Zelda, taking control and gliding over the gap with Peach. Peach landed delicately first, followed by Zelda, and then Amy. This time around, Amy managed to land without knocking anyone over. She grinned at her small accomplishment, then quickly followed the rest of her team into the next door.

. . .

When they entered the next room, they figured it wouldn't be worth it to remove control, considering that a chest and a dead end were all that the room led to…along with a round blue enemy shooting electrifying circles at them. While Zelda protected herself, Amy sprung forward and luckily landed a hit on the creature with her hammer, giving Peach room to get by and open the chest. Inside was a key that she was pretty sure they'd be needing soon enough.

"So that's why Samus had stopped me…" she mused to herself.

"Die, you!" Amy shouted, bonking the circle-thing on the head several times. When it was finally put out of commission thanks to Zelda and Farore's Wind, Team ZAP proceeded to bring back the key they had found.

**Back at the Second Room From Entrance-**

"...So keep this in mind, people- never trust the obvious," Samus concluded. She produced the key Peach had given her as a prime example. "Through Princess Peach's brave efforts, we have obtained this key, which will surely, without a doubt, help us to not get lost in here forever."

"Good to know," Sonic stated. "Now, can we go through the door?"

"All I did was float over a gap…" trailed Peach.

"Onward, onward!" Kirby demanded, pushing through the crowd of his friends and opening the door. Mario rolled his eyes and followed Kirby, only to come in contact with another Pigarithm.

"I've got this," Bowser assured, crouching down and turning the pig-like enemy into roast. "Yeah, I told you that this isn't so hard!"

"We haven't even gotten to the mind-bending parts yet," Samus sneered.

"And that would be…?" asked Link. Samus just gave him a look.

"You'll know when we get there. The important thing is to always stay close together."

Ganondorf defeated a second Pigarithm, making the way clear for them to continue. Team Mario took control and flipped into 3-D, transforming what seemed to be a wall into steps toward an upper floor. At the top, they removed control and Team BEG took it, using a combination of fire, magic, and lasers to destroy yet another two Pigarithms.

"Good thing these things drop lots of coins…" Tippi trailed, staring at the cash the defeat had given to the group.

Mario looked around- not only was there a Pigarithm running around on the ceiling, but there were two upside down doors on the ceiling as well! Talk about freaky…and Mario once again wondered where psychics applied in that particular situation. Samus pulled out the key once again and stuck it into the lock of the next door. The lock fell off with a quick clang, and when the gang entered…they found themselves on the ceiling.

Everyone: WHOA!

"The name holds true," Link stated moments afterward.

"How is this even possible?" Eggman questioned, unable to come up with even some sort of remote explanation.

"No one knows why the Whoa Zone works the way it works…besides the fact it was designed to keep people away from the Pure Heart," Samus explained as Bowser quickly attacked the ceiling Pigarithm. "It was also designed to make sure that the Legendary Heroes _would_ be able to get through…"

Mario kept this in mind as he headed through the next door.

. . .

"I dub this place the Great Sideways Hall."

It was the perfect description for this area- it was almost like someone took a hallway with doors on the floor and the ceiling, and flipped it so they were all on the walls. Mario was now assuming that it was called the "Whoa Zone" because anyone who entered was in so much shock about how many Laws were defied.

"I'm afraid to even walk…what if we fall or something?" Amy asked timidly.

"If we were to fall, wouldn't we have already done so?" Ganondorf inquired.

"Most likely…but, in this place, it's really hard to tell."

After Eggman destroyed a Tileoid R, Mario jumped down into another gap and climbed up the stairs on its opposite side. Peach was a tad disappointed about how there was no need for her to glide over.

"Do we just keep going until we hit a door?" Zelda wondered.

"We go through the way we wouldn't think to go," Samus replied.

Sonic's face twisted up in a way that proved he was completely confused. "Wait, how the heck do you think about the way you wouldn't go because you'd never think of it?"

Samus just adjusted her ponytail and kept going. "I didn't understand a word you just said so I'm not going to respond."

"Erm…so what exactly do we do here?" Link asked, pointing to a door hidden away in a gap and also to the path that continued over the gap. Samus starred at the door, then thought it over.

"Well, what's the first thing you'd do?"

"See what's through that door first?" Kirby asked nervously. Samus nodded, then motioned for Peach, Zelda, and Amy.

"Exactly. So we'll explore over the gap first. That door down there is most likely one that leads to the doors on the other side of the room."

"Walking up walls is such a weird feeling…"

Peach was happy to take control, and she, Zelda, and Amy traversed over the gap. When she was safely on the other side, Peach spun around on her heels to face the group.

"Do you guys want to come, or is it easier for just us three to go?"

"You three can go," Link answered quickly. "I want to experience as little "whoa" stuff as I need to!"

"You experience "whoa" stuff all the time," Zelda contradicted while walking away. "What makes this any different?"

"Excuuuuse me, but I don't ever recall- oh wait…yeah, I can think of a few situations similar to this one. Walking on walls and ceilings really isn't all that new to me after all."

Zelda gave a small smile that only Peach caught before they entered the only door on their side of the gap.

. . .

The girls were greeted to a red and yellow Tileoid invested room, Zelda and Amy quickly taking action by wither squishing them or burning them to a crisp. They only managed to get rid of the red ones, since the yellow ones were on the bottom half of the floor.

"Now, the question is, how do we get to the bottom half of the floor…"

"Maybe there's a-OOMPH!"

"Amy, dear, are you all right?"

"I'm fine! It's like there's an unblocked area to the side of the stairs or something!"

Peach and Zelda exchanged glances- how did Amy just randomly fall behind the stairs? They went to investigate immediately.

"Huh…" Zelda pondered, lightly brushing her hand against the stairs. "She shouldn't have been able to get through…"

"Unless…" Peach began, backing up as close as she could to the wall. She then worked her way back toward the stairs, and to her surprise, she manage to slip right behind them and end up where Amy was at. A quick survey of the room showed that Amy had already gotten rid of the yellow Tileoids.

"Okay, good work," Zelda stated, using Peach's tactic and following her friends.

"Now…how will we get back up?" asked Tippi.

Peach and Amy froze. Zelda saw the looks on their faces and promptly face palmed.

"I take it we're stuck down here now."

"Don't worry- when we come back from looking around, we'll just call Kirby with our watches and tell him to come and get us!" Peach decided.

Amy raised an eyebrow. "Why Kirby?"

"He's the only one besides us who can get over that gap! Plus, all he'd have to do is come in here, take control, flip into 3-D, and magically get us back to the upper half. It's fool-proof!"

Tippi nodded. "I can trust that, Peach."

"Yeah, we can actually talk to Kirby since he's only a room away," stated Amy. "I wish we could talk to everyone though- poor Tails, his inventions not working as well as they should when we really need them…"

"Enough about that," Zelda decided, hitting a black block with a white up and down arrow on it. Gravity had warped or something, because now the girls were walking on the "ceiling" of the lower half of the room. "Let's keep searching."

"Yeah, because I'm completely fine with the fact gravity has been shifted to the ceiling," Peach stated, trotting after Zelda through their next door.

**Meanwhile-**

Teams Mario and BEG were in a state of confusion as to why they were suddenly at the very top of the room.

"…how'd we get up here?"

**Back with Team ZAP-**

All three of them shared a highly appropriate "Whoa!" in unison.

"It might be in our best interest to not look down…" Zelda trailed, voice trembling only slightly.

"I can't wait to get out of here," moaned Amy. Peach had no complaints- she simply whipped out her parasol once again.

"Come on!"

She glided over the next gap, Zelda and Amy sharing a look before floating after her. Peach landed, her shoes making a small sound when they made contact with the ground. She waited for her friends, then proceeded to the next door. Zelda and Amy were confused, since they didn't see a door, but Tippi had confirmed that there was definitely one there. Peach tapped the wall in front of her, and sure enough, a door came swinging open.

"Good catch, Tippi!" Peach said cheerfully while walking in. Tippi fluttered just a bit higher than usual.

"It was nothing…"

. . .

"Huh, now that's peculiar," Peach pondered, now in possession of another key.

"What is it?"

Peach simply pointed above her head, technically pointing to the ground. Zelda, Amy, and Tippi all glanced up (or down) and saw what Peach had meant.

"Apparently the key to the door down there is this one," she explained.

Zelda shook her head. "That is absolutely genius."

"Now we just need to figure out how we're supposed to get down there," added Amy. Before she left, however, she spotted something give off a small glint behind the chest. "Hey, wait…what's that?"

"Huh-?"

Amy rushed past Peach and reached over the chest- behind it was the lower left leg piece of Samus' suit. The three girls instantly saw what Amy had found and gaped.

"Wow," Zelda whistled. "Samus sure is lucky we managed to find that."

**The Great Sideways Hall One Gravity-Flop and Rescue Later-**

"Thanks for the help, Kirby!" Amy exclaimed, exiting the door along with their puffball friend.

"No problem! You kind of gave me a heart attack when you called my watch though…"

Zelda sweat dropped. "Erm, sorry about that…"

"So what happened with you girls?" Sonic asked.

"We found another key," Peach responded casually, spinning said key around her finger.

"We also found the room with the door that it goes to," Zelda threw in.

"We can get out of here even faster now…" Ganondorf mumbled to himself, jumping down into the gap and going through the door. He reentered on the other side of the hall, just as Samus had predicted.

"The only way we can go now is through that way," Samus stated. "So I'm pretty sure we'll end up at the room you guys were talking about."

"Which reminds me," Amy recalled, pulling out the Power Suit piece she acquired. "Look at this!"

"You found another one?" Samus gasped, turning away from the door and bounding next to Amy. "Man…at this rate I'm really going to owe you guys one…"

"Think nothing of it!"

Samus put it with the rest of her pieces before crossing over to the other side of the room. Amy skipped after her, followed by everyone else.

**Room Where Team ZAP Was (This Time on the Floor)-**

Link popped out of the pipe smack dab in the center of the room, explaining about how he claimed several coins…and ironically, another piece of Samus' suit.

"So some of them really did end up in the Whoa Zone…" she trailed to herself, looking over the piece that was her upper right leg. "I bet the last two pieces are here as well: my lower right leg and my arm cannon!"

"I just can't believe how easily I found it!" explained Link.

"How'd you find it?"

"…I tripped over it. BUT, I then did a flip in the air and collected the coins within the same move!"

Samus sighed and shook her head. "Only you, Link…"

He grinned nervously while the rest of the group huddled around Mario, who was trying to unlock the next door. It was a bit hard to do so when you had eight people breathing down your neck. He slammed the key into the lock, then bolted through the door.

"…what? Did we make him claustrophobic or something?" Eggman questioned.

"I sure hope we did!" cackled Bowser. "That'd make my day!"

. . .

Mario instantly found another gravity-swapping switch, knowing that if he hit it, the group would wind up on the ceiling. It didn't help that no one was really paying attention, so when everyone crashed onto the ceiling, they were wondering how it happened. Mario pointed to the black block, then walked along the ceiling until he hit another one and fixed the gravity again. He had managed to land perfectly on his feet, but he couldn't say the same for everyone else…

"You have a hard time giving people warning when you do things, don't you?"

Mario: ^^;

Meanwhile, Peach realized that there was no door in sight, but there was a part of the wall that looked like a door was supposed to go there. She pointed at the spot, causing Tippi to separate and reveal that a hidden door was really there.

"You've got a good eye, Peach…"

Peach just shrugged. "It's like I have a natural knack for things like this."

She pulled her hand away, Tippi working her magic and making the door visible before returning back to butterfly form.

. . .

"Okay, let's take things slowly…" Link stated as everyone filed into the room. Sonic snorted.

"Do we have to?"

"Nope," Bowser chimed in, blasting a nearby Hooligon with his flames.

The room itself could be described as one large square. Hooligons were hopping around on the floor, on the ceilings, and even the walls. In two of the four corners were black boxes, each of them with a curving arrow symbol on them. Once Ganondorf took care of a second Hooligon, Mario walked to the right side of the room and hit the first block. Everyone was suddenly lifted off the floor, feet aimed for the left side of the room, and gravity was shifted so that they were walking on the left wall.

"They sure went all out on this place," said Kirby. He whirled around and pointed an accusing finger at Samus. "You said this was a highly intricate and complicated maze! I bet we're almost to the end already!"

Samus just folded her arms. "Well, that just proves we're better than we thought!"

"We are pretty awesome," Bowser boasted as Eggman shot at three more Hooligons. "And by we, I mean me! My 'm' was turned upside down."

Ganondorf groaned and planted his face in his palm.

"There's the door!" Link exclaimed as gravity was switched to the ceiling. Everyone instantly ran for it, but Samus was quick to skid in front of everyone and shake her head.

"Man, do you guys always go for the obvious?" she groaned. Samus then pointed to the right wall, where another door was located. "You'd never think to go in that one first, right?"

"That's because adventurers tend to check out the first thing they see, then go back and explore what they missed," Kirby replied intelligently.

"Exactly. In the Whoa Zone they make it the opposite."

"So…?"

"…The Whoa Zone wants to make you backtrack."

"In that case we thank you for steering us on the right path."

Mario walked away from the door, Samus still guarding it just in case anyone wanted to try anything funny. He hit the black block in the upper left corner again, switching gravity to the right wall. Eggman gave Samus a look as he approached the door.

"You'd better be right…"

"Haven't I always been right so far?"

"Hmph."

. . .

"Oh jeez…"

The whole room was all screwed around! The chest that they most likely needed was just above their heads, plus there were doors scattered all about the room! Plus they were currently walking along the left wall.

"This doesn't look good…"

"Here, if it makes you people feel better, I'll be the one to go," Samus volunteered, walking toward the only reachable door. "Honestly, it's not even that complicated!"

"Contradiction!" "Objection!"

Through the first door, she exited on the floor. Samus hit three ? Blocks- one had a Super Shroom, one had a Zombie Shroom that she quickly tazed, and the third block…contained her lower right leg piece?

"How did that get in there?" Samus wasted no time in picking it up. "Though I suppose it doesn't matter…"

She turned around and waved the piece at her friends. "Guess what guys? All I need to find now is my Arm Cannon and my Power Suit can finally be fixed!"

"…that's a good thing, right? Because I'm a little scared."

She ignored Sonic's comment and walked through another door that took her to the ceiling. Heading to the left, Samus obtained the key, gave everyone a look that said "this wasn't hard at all", then returned to them and headed back to the previous area.

**Room That Samus Was Desperately Guarding-**

Mario hit the gravity flip-switch in the room, receiving groans when everyone crashed onto the floor…again.

"You know, all this gravity defying makes me think about where we are in comparison to the outside of the Whoa Zone," Eggman mused to himself.

"Well, there's no need to get so technical- we've reached the heart of the maze…" Samus trailed, approaching the door with the key in her hand. She held it out to Mario. "Would you like to do the honors?"

Mario: Sure.

He took the key from Samus, then after a brief, hesitant pause, unlocked the final door.

* * *

**EARLY CHAPTER! 8D (which bumps the boss chapter up to this week. Yay! ^^)f**


	29. The Mysterious Team Mr L

Super Paper Mario X

Chapter 28: The Mysterious Team Mr. L

"SLOWPOKES!" Squirps' high-pitched voice screeched out. Mario and the rest of his reluctant gang approached the small green alien, who was looking rather proud of himself. "Squirps was tired of waiting! Squirps almost gave up! The Pure Heart that you're looking for is just ahead!"

"That's really good to hear," sighed Peach.

Amy nodded. "I'll say…"

"Squirps, you've done well…You're a smart kid…"

Squirps just chuckled and started to blush. "Stop it! Squirps is embarrassed! …wait, whose voice was that, squoh?"

"It certainly wasn't one of ours," grunted Ganondorf.

Then, like a strike of lighting, a blur of black and green came jumping out of the sky and landed on Squirps.

"Space niblet! You OK?" Bowser asked, taken aback from the sudden attack like everyone else.

Mario turned his attention away from Squirps and at the man who had attacked him- he was now accompanied by four others, all five of them grinning sinisterly.

"Heh heh heh…" chuckled the man. "Master K! Time to pump out our theme song!"

"Ya got it, Thunder!" said a guy donning a red and black outfit, pulling a boom box from nowhere and hitting the "Play" button. An odd, yet entirely catchy, tune began to play.

"Wh-Who're you?" gasped Tippi, not sure of what to make of the sudden apperance.

"Oh, me? Just one of Count Bleck's more promising minions. The Green Thunder…" He cast his arms out, spun around, then made his arms into the formation of an 'L'. "Mr. L!"

"Mr….L?"

"You've gotta be kidding…" Sonic groaned.

The man in green took a few steps forward, kicking Squirps out of the way. His apparent henchmen stayed put, except for the red guy who was dancing insanely to the song.

"I don't need you to tell me it's a cool name. I know it. Don't bother memorizing it," he said coolly, now standing face to face with Mario. Mr. L jerked a thumb over his shoulder. "You might want to bother memorizing their names, however."

"Yeah, who exactly are they?" Zelda asked, arms folded. Mr. L chuckled once again.

"None other than my loyal henchmen! Since I'm such a great minion for Count Bleck, I've been authorized to have minions of my own!" he spun around and pointed at them. "Remember what we rehearsed! Go!"

The girl of the group stepped forward first, giving a seemingly innocent curtsey before striking a threatening pose. "I know I don't look like much, but you'd be right to be afraid. Be very afraid…I'm none other than Mr. L's most _reliable _servant, the Marigold Menace…Lady M!" She then smirked as she walked up to Link. "But you can call me Lass M if you'd like."

She was followed by the shortest member, all wrapped up in his cape. He quickly cast out one hand dramatically, revealing his masked face to the heroes. "You'll be sorry to have crossed us."

Kirby interrupted with a scoff. "Hmph! You don't look so scary! I bet you're all just a bunch of chumps!"

The Navy Nightmare narrowed his eyes and glared at the pink puff. "Prepare to feel the wrath of…Sir MK!"

The guy dressed in red and black put down the boom box, still blaring out with the theme he had mixed for Mr. L. Just like The Green Thunder, he spun around, then finished off with his body forming a sort of 'K' shape. Samus noticed that his right arm was bandaged with a brick-red piece of cloth, and she wondered why. "The toughest member of Team Mr. L, naturally…you won't even see me coming! I'm the one and only Radical Red…Master K!"

Everyone sort of stared at the final member once an awkward silence dawned afterward, wondering when he was going to speak up. This apparently irritated Mr. L, as he walked over and gave him a hard shake.

"Introduce yourself so your name burns in their minds before we take them out!" he ordered.

"…" the youngest member, wearing black like the rest of the group with the exception of an orange scarf tied around his neck, glanced at Sonic unsurely before shaking his thoughts away and making his arms form the shape of a T. "Um…well, I'm The Orange Tornado…Captain T! Yeah…"

Master K, Lass M, and Sir MK gave him a disapproving look. Captain T just sagged his ears, obviously upset.

"We're about to give you a burial at sea…I mean, a burial at space," Mr. L continued once the introductions were over. "Do we look like we're scared of you pathetic people?"

The five of them quickly jumped back, springing to impressive heights before landing and waiting for the group to make the first move. They watched them with their pure white eyes, ready to bring it on.

"Dang it, dang it, dang it!" Samus hissed, stomping her foot on the ground repeatedly. "Where the heck is my Arm Cannon? If I had that, I'd put on my Power Suit and waste them all!"

"Don't throw a tantrum like Bowser would-"

"Ahem,_ what_ was that?"

"Either way," Link began, brandishing his sword and preparing to charge. "We're taking these guys on."

"Are you sure you don't want our help?" Zelda asked.

"Yeah, we could defeat them faster- we have them outnumbered!" Eggman pointed out. Sonic shook his head.

"This is our fight," Kirby explained, pulling out his hammer and staring intensely back at Sir MK. "Right Mario?"

Mario did have to admit, something about their new enemies gave off a bad vibe, whether it being how they might be match for them, or at how familiar they seemed…but not worrying about that at the moment, Mario tipped his hat and pointed forward. Link, Sonic, Kirby, and a reluctant Samus charged into battle. Mr. L chortled once more, then performed the same action as Mario while shouting, "HAVE AT YOU!"

Master K was quick to begin fighting, diving into the ground and disappearing from Samus' view. The huntress, getting a bad feeling that she was outmatched, meekly pulled out her pistol and darted around, hoping to avoid wherever Master K was planning to pop out. Her attempts at an evasive maneuver failed, as Master K came flying up out of the ground and sent Samus skyrocketing into the air. When she landed with a harsh smack, Master K rushed over and unleashed a plethora of punches.

Kirby found himself flying backward, thanks to a blow from Sir MK. The Navy Nightmare flew around like bat, well out of Kirby's reach, and the puff wouldn't be able to follow him fast enough even if he tried to float after him. What made matters worse was that Kirby couldn't land a blow, but Sir MK certainly could- he'd swoop in from nowhere and hack away at Kirby. Kirby attempted to defend himself…only to find himself on the ground once again.

Sonic was probably having the easiest time- Captain T didn't see to have his heart set in the battle, and Sonic didn't have a clue as to why. He'd bound up into the air and come crashing down on Captain T with a heavy Spin Dash, and the fox wouldn't know what hit him. He did hear Mr. L in the background shouting angrily at him, telling him to do something useful.

"Oh…"

"What's up with you anyway?" Sonic sneered, pausing from the onslaught for a moment. "There's something really odd about you compared to the rest of your little punk gang."

"Like I'm going to answer that," Captain T spat back, glaring angrily as he dashed forward with a wrench extended out in front of him. The next thing Sonic felt was two sharp prongs trying to stab into his side. Hissing to prevent from screaming, Sonic hit Captain T in the head and knocked him to the ground. Before he could perform a second blow, Captain T picked himself up and slapped Sonic right back with his twin tails, also using them to fly over the battle area.

"Holy cow, this girl has aim," Link wailed, ducking and running away from arrows being launched furiously at him. Lass M seemed to have an endless supply of arrows, and it made Link _very_ uncomfortable. The swordsman tripped while running, seeing five arrows set to rain down on him. In a flash, Link covered himself with his shield, cringing as five plinks were heard when the arrows made contact with his protection. Then, nothing.

"Huh, well that's-"

"YAH!"

Link let out a wail as he rolled out of the way, the crazy girl in gold clomping her black boots down on where Link's head had once been. The realization hit Link, making him wince, but he attempted to sneak in an attack nevertheless. Lass M didn't move- she calmly pulled a flute out of her pocket and played a heavy metal song. An anvil came falling out of the sky and landed on Link harshly.

"Ow…"

After blinking a few times, the girl burst out laughing.

Mario watched his team get somewhat abused by Mr. L's, the bad feeling in his gut increasing even more than before. It was too bad he wasn't paying much attention to himself, because a cocky battle cry rang out and Mario felt Mr. L bring him to the ground by landing on him…after using a Super Jump.

"Heh heh heh, my team is pretty impressive, huh?" he chuckled, still standing on Mario. "Yeah, they're all tough…except the Captain. He's a bit of a wuss…Lady M, though, that guy with the sword won't stand a chance against her…"

Mario made a face, then flipped over and knocked an off-guard Mr. L to the ground. Before Mr. L could rebound, Mario threw Thoreau at him, picked him up, then chucked him at the ground. Mr. L hit the ground face first, them took a deep breath and stood back up.

"You're quite the fighter, eh?" he huffed, glaring at the plumber in red. "Well, this is where your fighting ends! Here and now! Just try and stop me!"

Mr. L started jumping all over the place, and Mario hated to admit that he could never jump that high, no matter how hard he tried. All he could do at the moment was duck and avoid Mr. L's well placed hops. But there was one thing Mario, and to an extent the rest of his team, knew more than anything else…was the fact that if you were cocky, you'd most likely not succeed.

Well, unless you were Sonic.

Samus weakly grabbed her side, failing at zapping Master K once again. She was fast enough to keep up with him, but unfortunately for her, every time she went to hit with her paralyzing whip, he'd dig into the ground and avoid whatever she would dish out. The echidna was having a blast with this, glad he had the upper hand in battle. He had even jumped toward the nearest wall, climbed up it furiously, then came gliding down and smote Samus in the shoulder.

"If you don't mind my asking," Samus asked, finding it uncomfortable since she rarely asked the foe a question in the middle of a fight- especially when she was losing. "Why is there a bandage around your arm like that?"

Master K just shrugged and swung another fist at Samus- she ducked. "Mr. L said it happened in an accident- Sir MK hit me with his sword. The odd thing is, I don't recall it…maybe he just hit me a little too hard or something. Why do you care?"

"I don't…" she crouched low and tried a sweep kick- Master K jumped over it. "I'm just curious."

Samus tackled Master K, and the two suddenly had a bit of a slapping match. Master K ended it swiftly by striking with an uppercut, sending Samus flying upwards again. He struck a smug pose…until he was knocked down by Samus falling out of the air and having her foot make contact with his head. Enraged, Master K grabbed her and swung her over his head, then prepared to piledrive her. Samus rolled out of the way (in a very Link-like fashion) then shot a few small bullets at Master K. They hardly did anything. She sighed in disappointment.

Master K tried to land a few more punches, but Samus blocked them with lightning-fast kicks. Samus attempted to kick Master K in the face, but he blocked with his huge palms, grabbed her ankle, and shoved her to the ground. Samus lie sprawled out on the ground, almost afraid to move, as Master K advanced on her with a fist held high above his head.

"If I…had my Arm Cannon…I'd _waste_ you!"

Master K froze in mid-attack and stared at Samus dumbly. "Arm Cannon? Is it a dark green cylinder thing that looks like it could be attached to an arm?"

Samus blinked. "Um, yeah…how'd you know that?"

Master K pointed behind her. "It's right over there."

Samus glanced over her shoulder- just a short distance away was her beloved Arm Cannon she had searched high and low for, and now it was about to finally be back in her possession! Master K saw how eagerly she bounded over and made an attempt to stop her, but Samus quickly whirled around and snapped her paralyzing whip at him.

"YARGH!" he bellowed- it had made contact with his injury, and not only that, he briefly couldn't move as well. Samus raced over, scooped up the cannon, and practically hugged it.

"Finally, _finally, finally_!" she cheered, not daring to ever let it go. Now that the pieces were united, they all floated out of her pocket, getting ready to assemble once more. Samus found herself hovering above the ground as well, all her pieces glowing blue and sparking with electricity like they had when the suit had broke in the first place. Master K stopped fighting immediately to watch what was taking place- the sight was so shiny and bright!

"Ooh…" he gasped in awe like he was watching a firework show.

Samus' grin didn't falter as one by one, the pieces attached themselves to where they belonged. Her arm cannon slid perfectly onto her left arm, ready to fire its powerful missiles and beams. The final piece to restore itself was her helmet, and Power Suit Samus landed on the ground, cannon aimed at Master K.

"(Power Suit) Samus has joined the team!" Link shouted behind her while running away from Lass M once again. "She can KO almost any enemy with a single missile from her powerful arm cannon. Her Power Suit also increases protection against outside forces, causing her battle ability to be having a higher defense - two points higher than a normal defense."

"BONZAI!"

Master K suddenly realized he was screwed.

Kirby had enough of Sir MK's flying spree- it was time to end this! He swapped his hammer out for his Final Cutter, then sprung himself into the air.

"Where did he go…"

"Yah-EEEE!"

Sir MK cried out as he suddenly gained a massive headache, Kirby's weapon hitting right on target. He crashed like a fallen kite onto the ground, Kirby landing now to far away from him. Sir MK smirked- Kirby landed with his back toward him, which was a big mistake. However, when Sir MK jumped back to his feet and charge at Kirby sword-first, he probably shouldn't have cried out with a deep and loud battle cry.

Kirby turned around instantly, yelling when he unexpectedly blocked the almost successful attack with his Cutter. The two were engaged in a sword battle moments later, Kirby doing his best to prevent himself from being cut in half. Sir MK's slashes were quick and precise- Kirby could barely defend against them, but he was lucky that he managed to even do so at this point. He dared to take the offensive at Sir MK himself, but the Navy Nightmare did a backflip, took off into the air before spiraling downward like a drill, aiming at Kirby.

He quickly noted that he hadn't hit anything.

"What the-"

"Augh! Ah! AAAAH!" Kirby wailed, clutching Sir MK's head as he continued to soar around.

"The heck? Get off of me!"

"No! Nuh-uh!"

"_Graaaaaaah!"_

Sir MK flew around chaotically, trying to shake Kirby off, but Kirby had an iron grip! Sir MK was considering slamming into a wall when Kirby suddenly leaned in one direction, causing Sir MK to fall in that direction like a plane that was shot out of the sky.

"Go down! GO DOWN!"

"Will you knock that off?"

"NEVER!" Kirby even went as far as to yank on one of his wings, making Sir MK fall faster. They both fell to the ground, then in the reaction bounced back on their feet. It was a fury of gold and silver-blue as their weapons clashed against each other, trying to get by and make contact with the opponent. Kirby had enough- even more than before- and managed to knock Sir MK away and opened his mouth, sucking in huge amounts of air.

"Unh-"

Sir MK could barely register what had happened…besides the fact Kirby had swallowed him. Kirby spat him back out like he was a bad tasting piece of food and gained his abilities, plus a dark mask, epic cape, and a golden sword. Sir MK just scoffed and stared disgustedly at himself.

"Do you think just because you look like me, you can take me down?" he grunted, striking a battle pose one last time. Kirby nodded eagerly.

"Yup! Good-baaaaai!"

Sir MK got a taste of his own medicine as Kirby swooped upward, his own set of cape-wings taking shape as he glided about. Sir MK prepared for when Kirby came flying down again, but he made the mistake of turning around- it gave Kirby perfect access to his masked face, which he promptly broke when the copy of Sir MK's sword pierced into it.

Sonic wasn't entirely sure about what approach to take with Captain T- he was an over emotional killing machine. One minute he'd have no spark in him and Sonic would be open to attack, and the next he'd be trying to brutally stab the hedgehog with a screwdriver or clonk him in the head with some other tool. Was it just some kind of show he was putting on to have Sonic let his guard down, or was there really something up with him?

"OUCH!"

Sonic glanced down to his arm- he had bit him! Sonic pried Captain T off his arm and gave him a quizzical look.

"What's _wrong_ with you?"

"Nothing's wrong with me- _nothing_!" Captain T protested, this time pulling out a chainsaw. Sonic could've sworn he felt his pupils shrink, and he started to run away. Captain T chuckled psychotically and chased after Sonic, taking off into the air again and preparing to saw every one of Sonic's quills off…and Sonic knew that.

"Okay, I need a plan- this kid's crazy!"

The sound of deathly purring was getting louder and louder, and when Sonic daring to look behind him, Captain T was hovering over his shoulder. Sonic braked to an abrupt stop, sending Captain T flying forward with the unexpected drop in acceleration. The chainsaw flew out of his hands, and it was crushed by Link and Lass M trampling over it.

"No!" he wailed, falling to his knees and staring at his broken machine. "Aw man…I can fix it, but…"

"What's the matter? Not so tough without your special toy?" Sonic questioned, walking up to him at a safe distance and folding his arms. Rage flashed across Captain T's face as he lunged for Sonic. They both fell to the ground, Sonic covering his face to protect it from the clawing damage it was receiving. His legs received several tail-smacks that weren't pleasant either, and Sonic was nearly ready to punch Captain T, even if he was only just a kid. Sheesh, the kid needed to get a grip!

When Sonic prepared his fist for punching, Captain T instantly caught sight of it and jumped back, flying into the air and holding out his wrench, pointed downward at Sonic.

"N-no! Anything but that!" he cried frantically. "I-I'll surrender if ya want me to! Just don't punch me, please! I'm begging ya!"

Sonic picked himself up off the ground, gawking at Captain T while still holding his fist up. The fox yelped again and jabbed his wrench even closer toward Sonic.

"I'll stab you brutally if you even think about punchin' me! I said I'd surrender if you didn't, so don't!"

"How come you're so afraid of being punched?" Sonic asked, completely clueless.

"S'none of your business! Just…don't…"

Captain T came down to the ground, landing on his knees and hanging his head in shame. Sonic was stunned- he could've attacked right now if he wanted to, but Captain T was succumbing to the mere thought of being hit with a fist! Even if he was evil, Sonic did have to wonder…what had the poor kid been through?

"For the love of Nayru, will you QUIT CHASING ME?" Link yelled, running with his shield covering his head and back.

"What's wrong- afraid of a girl?" Lass M teased, not giving up with her barrage of arrows. Link simply winced- how was he supposed to beat her if she wouldn't let her offense down? He had tried to attack several times with his sword, but he just couldn't get close enough! That's when he saw Boomer out of the corner of his eye, and he suddenly gained an idea.

"Make me proud, buddy!" Link called, dropping Boomer directly behind him.

"I'll try, sss-POW!"

Lass M did just what Link anticipated- she ran right into Boomer, who blew up in her face, making her stop dead in her tracks.

"Hey…you can't do that!"

"Well I just DID! So HA!"

Lass M narrowed her eyes and launched several more arrow at Link. One speared his hat and knocked it clean off. Link cringed, ducked down to scoop it up again, then rolled out of the way of another onslaught.

"You don't give up, do you?"

She smirked. "No. But you should."

Link scrambled back onto his feet and started running once again as Lass M stopped giving chase and played her flute. The ground beneath Link's feet skyrocketed, sending him up in the air. She then swapped back to her bow and fired even more arrows. Lucky for Link he saw them coming, so he grabbed his shield and protected himself at the last moment.

"She's starting to get on my nerves…" he grunted to himself, lighting up Boomer and tossing him at her again. Boomer made direct contact with Lass M and blew up in her face once more. She stumbled backward, and realized she was covered from head to toe in black soot.

"UGH! Mr. L!" Lass M cried, running up to where Mr. L and Mario were still going at it. "That idiot ruined my perfect complexion and burned some of my hair! Do something about that!"

"Not now babe, I'm trying to beat the snot out of this hero," Mr. L seethed, glaring back at Mario staring at him. "Besides, you can beat him on your own, can't you-"

**"NO!"**

Just then, Mr. L saw Master K rocketing around behind Mario, having been plowed in the stomach with a missile and wailing like a siren, while Sir MK was running around in circles with his cape over his face shouting, "MY FACE! MY FACE HAS BEEN EXPOSED!"

"What the heck-"

"Erm, I believe this is yours?" Sonic asked, walking up with Captain T still hanging his head in shame next to him. "He, uh, kinda surrendered…"

Mario blinked as Mr. L trembled with anger. "GRAH! **Idiots!"**

Lass M folded her arms and stared at Mr. L darkly. "You'd better not be talking about me…'

"Of course I'm not. I'm talking about the guy riding on a missile, the guy with a cape over his face, and the little brat who just willingly gave up!"

Mario: Some team you have there.

"Shut up, you!" Mr. L snapped, pushing Lass M somewhat violently out of the way. "So the rest of my team might be down and out, but you've still got me to deal with! I'll-"

Mario took a daring leap and landed on Mr. L's head. He instantly fell to the ground.

"Oh, ha ha," he scoffed, standing back up. "Who do you think you are?"

Mario: Mario!

"Well, guess what? Just because you're "Mario" doesn't mean I won't make sure you're down for the count- _forever!"_

He pulled out a Shroom Shake to replenish any lost health, when he suddenly had it swiped away from his by a Pixl shaped like a hand. Mario tauntingly shook it in front of Mr. L's face, then drank it for himself. Mr. L's mustache was standing on end now.

"Okay, that's it! NO ONE TAKES MY SHAKE! NO ONE!"

"What's so great about those things anyway?" Link asked, making a face.

Mr. L crouched down low, then shot up into the air like a bottle rocket. He aimed to land on Mario once more, but Mario jumped out of the way at the last second, then socked Mr. L right in the gut. With Mario having the upper hand by having the higher HP, Mr. L was afraid that he was about to be done in quite soon. Mario saw something in Mr. L's pure white eyes…something familiar, just like with the rest of his team. Mr. L made another wrong choice and tried to swig another drink…which gave Mario the perfect opportunity to kick him in the back and have Mr. L land flat on his face.

Mario: *sweat drops*

"Wow, you beat them that fast? Weaklings!" chuckled Bowser.

"Are you kidding? That battle took longer than usual!" Zelda protested.

"Well, you can't really say the same for the green guy," Amy admitted, scratching the back of her head.

"Oof! Impressive!"

"What are you talking about?" Master K intervened, coming back covered head to toe in "missile explosion aftermath". "You were swearing up death upon them just a few moments ago, and now you call it impressive?"

"I guess there's but one thing to do, hm?" Mr. L said darkly, ignoring Master K throwing up his hands. Team Mario gathered together and stared at him curiously. "COME TO ME, METAL BRO!"

Lass M gasped. "He's calling his brother!"

"You _did_ finish it, right?" Sir MK asked Captain T, who was still looking as depressed as ever.

"To the best of my ability…" he murmured in reply.

"That thing was built to be indestructible!" Master K announced. "We'll win for sure now!"

A giant, robot head that remotely resembled Mr. L's came bursting through the wall, flying over Mr. L's team. The evil team's confidence grew considerably while the hero team's confidence shriveled only slightly.

"Ha HA! Do you like him?" Mr. L boasted. "This is my DEAR metal brother. He and I share a spiritual bond, you know. Yes, yes, and his name is…BROBOT!"

"How original," Samus groaned while rolling her eyes. "You know we're going to total that thing as well, right?"

Mr. L jumped into the pilot's seat, while Lass M and Sir MK jumped into the co-pilot seats. Master K was in charge of the secondary weapons, and Captain T was assigned to do repairs when needed.

"Enough playing already…NOW FOR PAIN!"

"All right!" cheered Master K, changing the track on his boom box. "Let's blow some people up!"

"Be careful, Mario!" Peach called.

"Or don't be so careful!" added Bowser.

Mario gave them both a thumbs up anyway as they were suddenly warped into space, Mario in possession of Squirps again, candy bars flying around, and Team Mr. L hovering before Team Mario in their metal monster.

"Okay, what's the game plan, chief?" Kirby asked, all ready to go.

Mario: Turn that thing into scrap metal!

"Great concept, but how are we going to do that, exactly?" Link questioned.

"The gravitational laws of space allow Brobot's potential to be fully realized!" Mr. L shouted triumphantly. "I'll foil your faces!"

"You know, that line lacks a punch…" Sonic criticized. "Maybe if you have a little something before saying that-"

"How's about I give you a little something?" Master K growled, hitting a red button on his control pad. A large green and red missile flew out of Brobot's nose, blasting Team Mario in separate directions. The only ones who could really attack were Mario with Squirps, Sonic with his spin dash, and Samus with her missiles and beams.

"It's really good to have you back," Samus sighed, petting her cannon though every blow she dealt only did one damage.

"This thing is tougher than it looks!" Kirby cried when Sonic and Mario's attacks only did one damage as well.

"We built this out of the toughest metal we could find!" Sir MK explained, now wearing a replacement mask. "We'll be destroying you before you even make a dent in Brobot!"

"And if you do make a dent, we've got the nerd to fix it up!" Mr. L added. Captain T pouted.

"I'm not a nerd-"

"Says who?"

"Ugh…"

Lass M fired lasers out of Brobot's eyes, the gang trying their best to avoid them all- except Samus. The lasers simply glanced off her Power Suit as she grabbed a yellow chocolate bar floating past her.

"Samus! This is no time to be eating a snack, and that's saying something coming from me!" Kirby stated, bashing back the projectiles with his hammer. However, when Samus devoured the treat, she found that it made her able to attack even faster.

"Hey, these chocolate bars are upgrades!" she realized, now doing twice as much damage on the robot.

Mario wondered if this was really true and grabbed a red chocolate bar. This one increased his attack, and soon he was doing double the damage on Brobot as well.

"They're getting stronger by eating chocolate!" Captain T cried, staring out the lower window.

"Shields up, Lady M!" Mr. L ordered. Lass M gave a salute.

"Yes, sir!"

She slammed her fist on a blue button, increasing the robot's resistance to attacks temporarily. Master K chuckled to himself as he pulled down a lever.

"Let's see how they handle this as well!"

Brobot's mouth opened up, sucking them up in a similar fashion to what Kirby would do.

"Run away, run away!" Link shouted, defying psychics and walking away from the forceful suction. "Hey, I made it guys! …guys?"

Mario, Kirby, Sonic, and Samus had been sucked up, and were now being chewed up for a few seconds before Brobot spat them out. They could hear Master K's loud chuckle coming from the inside of the robot. Link frowned and grabbed a green candy bar floating by.

"Well that kinda sucks…nom nom nom…but this tastes great!"

When Mario had pulled himself together, he started firing Squirps' beams at Brobot, only to find that he could fire missiles as well!

"Now what does this one do…" pondered Kirby, grabbing a purple candy bar and swallowing it in one bite.

When Mario and Samus fired their projectiles, they split in two! Now they were doing quadruple the damage!

"Too bad these effects don't last…" Sonic sighed, his attack decreasing. However, on the bright side, a blue candy bar came floating up to him, and it was his turn to dine on the treat. Once he finished it, a shield surrounded the entire team and rendered Brobot's attacks ineffective! "Sweet!"

"What? ! NO!" Mr. L shouted, pounding on his dashboard. "Darn the overwhelming powers of a chocolate delicacy!"

"Nothing's working!" Master K shouted, firing missiles and lasers like crazy while Lass M and Sir MK were veering away from the massive onslaught of beams, missiles, and spin dashes directed at them.

"Our health is already under fifty percent, sir…" Captain T announced nervously, keeping an eye on their energy levels. Mr. L narrowed his eyes and shot a glare at him.

"Isn't it your job to prevent that from happening?"

"I-I guess…but there's really no preventing our inevitable fate if they keep up with these huge attacks and heavy defenses-"

"Argh, you're so useless!" Mr. L shouted, fist slamming on a red button just as Master K pulled back the lever again.

"They're trying to suck us in again! Retreat!" Kirby wailed, the five of them backing away quickly from the robotic creation. Not only that, but a torrent of lasers were directed at them. If they struck the group, they would be knocked into the suction for sure. To make matters worse, the shield Sonic had given to everyone wore off.

"Well that's just beautiful," the hedgehog grumbled, bracing himself for either being zapped or chewed up. Samus reached out for a yellow candy bar and smirked.

"It's not over yet. Everyone scatter!"

The five of them separated, the feat being made easier thanks to the candy bar increasing their speed. Mr. L had another fit at missing the intended targets once again, and grew even angrier when Mario obtained a "Power Up" chocolate bar.

"Shields up! Attack up! Take everything to the max!" Mr. L ordered. Lass M, Sir MK, and Master K scrambled around to try and fill out the orders. He then turned to Captain T, who was standing around doing nothing in particular. "Why aren't you helping?"

"W-What am I suppose to-"

"Just do something! I will see to it to make sure that Count Bleck is pleased with my work, and I won't have you interfering with it!"

"But I-"

A loud boom echoed throughout Brobot- something large had struck its cheek.

Samus blew the smoke off the end of her cannon. "Well, that was interesting…"

"You think we're wearing it down a bit?" Link asked as he obtained a green candy bar again and their attacks gained double the missiles once more.

"A bit? At this rate it'll be demolished!" cried Sonic, crashing into the forehead again.

"Holy cow, they made a dent…" winced Sir MK.

"Yeah, can we say we're doomed now?" Master K moaned, voice on the edge of panicking.

"Plus we've only got very limited HP left," added Captain T. Mr. L nearly twitched.

"That's not helpful- that's negative! Why I outta-WAOMPH!"

Brobot lurched backward, more missiles being launched at the face. Sonic acquired a shield again, and Team Mr. L couldn't even unleash a counterattack.

"Um…should we admit defeat now?" Master K asked again.

Mr. L threw his arm into the air and raised a finger. "Never!"

"Oh yeah, I suppose you should know we're not going to last another hit," Captain T said bluntly. Everyone but Mr. L, who remained in his seat, began freaking out.

"We're all gonna die!" shouter Master K. His boom box fell off the shelf it was on and hit the ground with a shatter. "NO! My beautiful catchy music! GONE!"

"Brace for impact! Brace for impact!" Lass M blared like an alarm as Sir MK dove under his dashboard. Mr. L was squeezing his steering wheel so hard, he thought the handles would snap.

"Everyone, get a grip!" he ordered, but no one listened. Only Captain T gave him any attention by saying:

"We're doomed!"

"One last hit- come on!" cheered Kirby.

"Show no mercy!" called Link.

Mario, Sonic, and Samus all exchanged a nod. Mario blasted a beam, hitting a certain spot on Brobot. Samus weakened the spot even more with a spot-on missile, and Sonic finished it off with a spin dash while Kirby and Link split a purple chocolate bar.

"Hey…this doesn't make any sense!" Mr. L shouted, seeing his precious metal brother begin to blow up rapidly.

"I told you," Captain T threw in.

"You're going to be punished, you know," Lass M hissed, staring him down.

"It's not my fault!"

"My beautiful boom box…"

"Oh, shut up!"

They all returned to the Whoa Zone, Team Mario unscathed while Team Mr. L landed harshly thanks to Brobot being blown to bits.

"That could have gone so much better…" groaned Sir MK.

"N-No! You beat Brobot?" Mr. L winced. He got off the ground and shot a disgusted look at the team. "Ugh…I'll let you off the hook for the rest of today, I suppose…but remember this…when Fortune smiles next, she'll smile right HERE! On Team Mr. L!"

The ten of them exchanged glares before Mr. L jumped away, followed by Lass M, and then Sir MK, Master K, and Captain T flew after them. Mario, Link, Sonic, Kirby and Samus just looked on.

"Hrrm…Mr. L. What nut job," snickered Bowser. " I feel like I've seen that guy before…"

"I feel like I've seen all of them before!" exclaimed Amy, with Peach, Zelda, Ganondorf, and Eggman agreeing instantly. Team Mario exchanged looks among themselves- that's what they thought as well…

"If anything…" Kirby started to say slowly. "…they reminded me of Team Luigi…"

"…I don't really like the thought of that being Tails, even if it does resemble him slightly…" Sonic murmured under his breath.

"I wouldn't be surprised if that was them!" gaped Link. "…except, there's absolutely no way that Mr. L was Luigi! I mean, can you imagine? Ha!"

"Yeah, there's no _way_ Luigi could pull off being evil like that," Samus stated, her tone making it hard to indicate whether she was being sarcastic or not.

Mario didn't exactly agree with that statement, but he said nothing more on the matter. The important thing was, they could now get by and find the Pure Heart!

After being congratulated by the girls and (somewhat) the villains, the group spotted Squirps come limping up to them.

"Ugh….that was awful, squirp! We have to pull ourselves together, space grunts…"

"We are near the Pure Heart, right?" Zelda asked. Squirps gave her a nod.

"The Pure Heart is just ahead! Come along, space grunts!"

Squirps ran excitedly ahead of everyone, everyone struggling just to keep up as they followed him through the door.

"Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Squirps brought them here!"

"Did he just say 'Mommy'?" Peach asked in disbelief. There was no one else in the room besides them- just a huge golden statue of someone that Squirps kept calling "Mommy". Samus took one look at the statue and gasped.

"No way! That would mean…whoa…"

"What? What's up Sam?" Sonic asked. Samus started to speak, but then shook her head.

"I think Squirps should tell you…trust me, it's a bit of a shocker…"

"Oh, we're finally here!' Squirps cried, unable to contain his excitement. "Come on! Say hi to Squirp's mommy!" he gestured to the giant golden statue. "Yeah, this is Squirp's mommy! The queen of Squirpia! Her name is Squirpina XIV!"

"The queen…is you mother?" gaped Tippi. "So you are…"

"Squirps is the prince of Squirpia, a once-great kingdom…my true name is…Squirp Korogaline Squirpina! Sorry for not telling you. Squirps promised not to tell! It makes Squirps a target!"

"Well, what do you know…" Kirby chuckled.

"And _you_ wanted to get him out of our hair!" Eggman scoffed to Ganondorf.

"Just because he's a prince, doesn't mean he's any less annoying."

"I've read about Squirpia…Squirps did remind me of what Queen Squirpina XIV looked like, so that's why I trusted him almost right away," Samus explained. She smiled slightly. "Looks like I was right again…"

Squirps coughed, then began the tale about his back story. "Long ago, Squirp's mother was told that destruction would come to the world. And in order to protect us from this destruction, we needed the Pure Heart…So Mommy hid the Pure Heart in the Whoa Zone, where no one could get to it. And so, 1,500 years ago, Squirps was put to sleep in a hibernation capsule, squeeeep. Squirps was meant to bring the heroes here…to protect the world, squirp!"

"Huuurgh! My head hurts! I can't keep up with plot points this complicated!" complained Bowser.

"I can keep up with it, I'm still just a little…stunned…" Link trailed.

"Now I feel bad…" moaned Tippi, guilty of calling him terrible things and being so defensive.

"The prince of Squirpia, Squrips, has a message from the queen to deliver…"I bestow upon you the Pure Heart in hope that you will save the world…" Here! Take it! Squirp!"

A beautiful light blue Pure Heart emerged out of thin air, blinding everyone with how pretty and pure it was. Mario stepped into the light it produced, the Pixls floating away from the owners and doing their infamous little dance before the light blue Pure Heart allowed itself into Mario's possession.

"We got a Pure Heart!" cheered Link, high-fiving Sonic while Kirby performed another "Samus Glomp".

. . .

"Phew! Now that Squirps is all relaxed, Squrips feels kinda…tired…" said Squirps. And with that, Squirps lay down before the statue of his beloved mother.

"Mother," he said, his voice soft. "I did my best, right? Are you…proud…of me?"

Then…slowly…young Squirps closed his eyes…the mission had weight heavy on his tiny back, and he was proud to fulfill it.

* * *

**This chapter was fun to write. ^^ And now we have the mysterious Team Mr. L! WHO ARE THEY? ! (and who am I kidding, besides people who haven't played the game...?) But nevertheless, I got "creative" with their names, huh? ;)**


	30. A Bit of Recon

Super Paper Mario X

Chapter 29: A Bit of Recon

"Yeah, so, guys? Huddle up, 'K? We're just gonna have a quick new-minion orientation. They are Team Mr. L, and they come to us from one of our key competitors," Nastasia explained to the other minions, once they were all back in the platform room.

"Mmm. Can't say I'm impressed by the minion quality…" scoffed Mr. L.

"That's right- you tell 'em!" threw in Lass M.

"No, indeed. No wonder you've been trounced up to now. You're like JUNIOR minions."

"I agree _completely_-" Master K began, but was silenced by the raise of Mr. L's hand.

"JUNIOR?" yelled O'Chunks, insulted. "C'mere an' I'll introduce yeh to Fist Jr. an' his wee pal Slappie!"

"Then yeh can talk to me fists as well, ARGH!" Master K retorted back, punching the air. Sir MK brought his palm to his face.

"He's Scottish, not a pirate."

"Gosh Mr. L, but didn't you get pretty spanked too? So maybe YOU'RE the Junior!" Mimi snapped, hands on her hips.

Mr. L took a step back. "Spanked, you say? Ho ho! I was scouting them, dear. He will be mine next time." He spun around and performed his classic "L" pose. "Yes, they will know the fury of the one and only Mr. L, AKA The Green Thunder!"

"You totally stole my trademark," pouted Master K.

"Are you sure you didn't steal mine?" he countered. Mr. L then turned to Count Bleck. "But enough about me…I need to head to the repair bay for Brobot modifications. L-ater!"

Lass M, Sir MK, and Master K jumped off the platform, Captain T as usual trying to stay behind. Mr. L grabbed his shirt and brought him down with him. As Nastasia and the minions watched them take their leave, Count Bleck recited one of the passages from the Dark Prognosticus.

"'Though the man in red shall wield formidable powers, one shall stand against him. The man in green shall use the Chaos Heart's power to bring darkness to all.' Bleh heh heh heh heh…So it is written in the Dark Prognosticus."

"So what you're saying is…the "man in green" is our minion-in-training, Mr. L?" Dimentio asked, his voice suddenly full of curiosity.

O'Chunks stomped his foot into his platform angrily. "Whut! That makes as much sense as a beef an' broccoli sandwich!"

"Calm yourself, O'Chunks. Make ready. Count Bleck is sending you on a new mission."

"Ah, now THAT makes sense! It'll be me honor, Count! I, O'Chunks, swear to you…These heroes have a hot date with me feet! Chunks away!"

As O'Chunks left, Dimentio spoke up while Mimi was still glaring angrily with her arms akimbo.

"My, aren't we hot blooded? Well, well…I suppose that's to be admired. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to be on my way as well. Ciao!"

Dimentio snapped his fingers and distorted the air as he teleported, Mimi now breaking out into a hissy fit.

"So poor little Mimi doesn't get to be in on the fun? This stinks."

In a huff, she teleported out of the room as well, leaving Nastasia and Count Bleck alone.

"Yeah, I hate to seem like a whistle-blower here, but O'Chunks may not…Actually, even Dimentio, Mimi, AND Team Mr. L may not be up to this…" Nastasia trailed nervously. Those heroes will collect the Pure Hearts and come here. They'll come for you…"

"Bleh heh heh heh heh…all is according to plan, Count Bleck assures you."

Nastasia frowned, now sort of hanging her head. "It's strange…nobody ever, um, cherished the universe the way you once did…And yet, you've been made to destroy it…"

"That's quite enough…Nastasia."

"If I could, um, I…"

Count Bleck heard Nastasia's quiet voice and whirled around to face her. "You'd what?"

"If only I could have, y'know, been that girl…Things could have been different…"

Count Bleck's expression didn't change as he turned away again, shaking his head.

"She cannot be replaced. You could never hope to do so, Nastasia."

Nastasia's eyes widened and she shamefully took a few steps back. "Yeah, um, I'm very sorry. That just slipped out."

Count Bleck just pulled his white top hat over his eyes. "To be sure…she is gone…Gone from all worlds, never to return…"

He said nothing more, him and the dark book teleporting out of the room. He left Nastasia alone to wallow in her guilt of even thinking about such thoughts…

. . .

While Mimi was off doing her own things, O'Chunks prepared for his secret mission, and Dimentio was stalking O'Chunks, Team Mr. L made their way down one of the halls, back to the repair bay. Mr. L had one arm hooked onto Lass M's, while the other was used for dragging Captain T along behind him. The fox absolutely refused to walk for whatever reason.

"Man…my arm really hurts!" Master K groaned, gripping his shoulder and cringed. He glanced down at Sir MK. "I only have this injury because you practically stabbed me-"

"I didn't **stab** you," Sir MK replied sharply. "We were having a training session, and I unfortunately found a hole in your defense and slashed you."

Master K blinked, still grabbing his arm. "Lady M said it was an accident…"

Sir MK shrugged. "It may have, it might not have. The point is, you've got it, and there's nothing you can do about it."

"I could always heal your wound," Lass M stated, removing herself from Mr. L and sliding in-between the duo. "But I'd really hate to waste my magic on such a small thing…"

"Small thing? ! My arm nearly got hacked off, thank you!"

"I say don't heal him. I want to make sure he learns discipline," Sir MK said coldly. Master K glared daggers at him.

"What the heck are you talking about?" he then gazed pleadingly at the girl lightly tossing the flute in her hands. "Can you at least make it stop hurting so much…argh…"

"humph, how weak. Can't even handle a little pain-"

"Shut up you!" Master K growled, advancing toward Sir MK and punching the ground where he once stood. Sir MK had jumped into the air before Master K could lay a hand on him.

"Hey you two, take it easy," Lass M ordered, placing the flute to her lips and playing a quick tune. Moments later, Master K stopped cringing and let go of his arm.

"Tha-"

"Now knock off your senseless violence," she interrupted, then kept walking. Master K shrugged and walked at a faster pace than Sir MK, which was probably for the best.

Meanwhile, Mr. L was still dragging Captain T, who really did _not_ want to go to the repair bay.

"For the love of…will you just come ON!"

"Why should I?" the boy spat back, refusing to take a step closer to their destination. "If you want me to go, you'll have to drag me there!"

"I already _am_ dragging you there!"

"So keep dragging- you won't get any help from me!"

Mr. L adjusted his hat and gripped Captain T with two hands, now pulling him from under his arms.

"Listen, you're already in trouble enough for costing us the Heroes-"

"How is that my fault? And you're the one who was boasting to the other minions about how you were simply "scouting" the guy!"

"Well I had to make up an excuse to cover up for your stupidity!"

"I'm not stupid! My IQ towers above yours, and that's a given!"

"Stop countering my words, darn it!"

Captain T just looked over his shoulder and stuck out his tongue, and it was all Mr. L could do to prevent himself from giving that kid and piece of his mind. They continued down the hallway, and Captain T had to admit that his butt was getting tired from all the dragging.

"How come the Man in Red looked a little like you?" Captain T asked, a question he'd been meaning to get to. Mr. L just narrowed his eyes.

"Because we are opposites. He is the Man in Red, the main hero of the Light Prognosticus…but his efforts are futile, since I, the Man in Green, determines which Prognosticus is correct. And obviously I am going to make sure that it is the Dark one!" Mr. L suddenly dropped Captain T to stop and take a rest. He jerked his head over his shoulder and barked out an order. "Master K! Get over here and carry him to the repair bay!"

"Aw man, do I have to, Thunder?"

"Yes, you do."

"Ugh, fine…"

Mr. L made sure that Captain T wouldn't get away as Master K turned back around to come and get him. Sir MK tripped him on his way back, which caused Lady M bonking Sir MK promptly on the head. Master K then slung the fox over his shoulder and marched forward, Mr. L staying close behind.

"Psh, I don't see what the big deal is- he's like a pillow!"

Mr. L would rather describe him as a sack of potatoes, but that was just him. He stared into the fox's masked eyes, trying to strike fear into him to get him to behave. However, it was worthless, considering all the fear he had to strike was already given in the form of a punch, and now Captain T knew how far he could push Mr. L without crossing the line. It drove The Green Thunder absolutely mad.

"Wouldn't it be weird if the Man in Red was your brother or something? You guys are practically twins!" Captain T rambled, facing Mr. L and donning a snarky grin. Mr. L rolled his eyes.

"The only brother I have is the one that you're going to be fixing-"

"That red guy's mustache was _way_ better than yours."

Mr. L twitched before lunging, hurting Master K plenty more than his intended target.

"So _this_ is what I get for helping around here? !" Master K roared, practically throwing Mr. L to the side. "Jerk!"

"He knows what he's doing!" Lass M protested, running over and helping her leader up off the ground. Mr. L gave a death glare to Captain T, who was innocently sitting on the ground.

"You know I'm sensitive about the 'stache!"

"Duh!"

Mr. L growled and turned his back toward him. "Master K, get back on the job."

"Why can you make him do it?" Master K continued to wine, pointing at Sir MK.

"Because I want you to do it! Now hop to it!"

Sir MK snickered to himself as Master K scooped up Captain T once again. Needless to say, Captain T was feeling slightly better now.

. . .

"Okay, here's what we're going to do!" Mr. L announced, once they returned to the repair bay. "Sir MK, you're going to scout around for spare parts that we can use to fix and upgrade my brother! Master K, you're going to remix us a new CD with our theme song- and make a new tune while you're at it. The new version of Brobot is going to need a tune that 's even more epic."

"I'm on it, Thunder!"

"Captain T, you're going to fix up Brobot while Lass M and I supervise your work as we delicately sip sparkling apple juice."

"Say what now?" Captain T complained, being the only one not satisfied with his assignment.

A massive record scratch was heard in the background, followed by Master K calling out, "SORRY!"

"Not only are you going to mock me by watching, but you're throwing JUICE into the mix? ! That's just cruel!"

"Too bad, get to it," Lass M snapped back, now leaning back in a chair not too far away. Mr. L nodded.

"You heard the lady." He sat next to her and poured them their apple juice. Captain T watched with increasing envy as several techno sounds blared in the background. Master K was obviously having a blast. Captain T was set to give the Radical Red a piece of his mind, but Sir MK flew up from nowhere and buried him under a pile of parts. Pouting and hanging his head, Captain T waded out of the pile and got to work.

"So what're your opinions of those junior minions?" Mr. L asked, making conversation.

"Meh, the chunky guy is kinda stupid," shrugged Master K. "He's all brawn but no brain."

"Sounds awfully familiar, huh Master K?" sneered Lass M. Master K pondered for a moment, then caught on to what she meant.

"HEY!"

Lass M snickered. "Well, if you ask me, that shape shifting girl is nothing but a snob! I mean, what kind of a fighter is she? I'm not surprised she was taken out by two girls! At least I held my own against that guy in the dress…"

"I believe it's a tunic," interrupted Sir MK. "Plus, you went screaming to Mr. L as soon as you got dirty!"

Lass M made a face and shot an arrow at him. He ducked under it swiftly.

"As for my opinion on the other minions, that Dimentio guy…he seems so shifty…I don't like him."

Mr. L stared into his glass. "Yeah, I don't trust him so much either…there's just something about him…"

"Like there's something just under the surface…" trailed Lass M. "And something about the girl is familiar to me as well…"

"If there's anything I wanna complain about, it's that secretary!" Master K complained. "She's like a militia leader, telling people what to do, but then she doesn't do anything herself!"

"She's the hypnotizer…" Captain T muttered to himself. If anything, she was probably the most deadly.

"I do have to wonder…" Sir MK admitted, rubbing his wrist. "The watches that we had…I wonder what Nastasia did with them?"

Captain T's eyes widened as he worked, Master K nodding in agreement.

"Yeah, I had this really cool red one too! She just showed up, said she needed to figure out if they could be used to locate the heroes, and she never brought them back…"

"I bet that's how Count Bleck knows where to send everybody," Lass M presumed. "She's got the watches to show her where the stupid heroes are."

"Then I'm glad we could be of assistance," Mr. L chuckled, clinking his glass of sparkling juice against Lass M's before swigging it quickly.

"I thought they couldn't work like that though because of the long distances..." Master K trailed. Sir MK shook his head.

"They can't."

Captain T, meanwhile, narrowed his eyes in frustration- first off, he shouldn't be the only one doing the work, because if they ended up screwing up again, he'd get blamed for it. Second thing, he wanted some of that sparkling juice- for whatever reason, he seemed to be craving juice quite a lot lately. The third thing…he had their watches in his pocket.

"…"

He pulled out the green, bold orange, midnight purple, and brick-red watches, holding them in his grasp as he watched them with interest. They seemed to spark a memory of something he couldn't recall…it almost seemed like he was the one who had built them in the first place, but at the same time…it _didn't_.

"It still doesn't explain why I have one," he whispered to himself quietly, rolling up his sleeve slightly to check out his own. "Why do we have these? Why did the heroes have them? Just what are they for…and what can they do?"

"HEY! Are you working down there?" Mr. L's voice snapped, nearly making Captain T jump and drop the watches. He quickly hid his beneath his sleeve, murmuring in return and nodding frantically. He sighed, stuffed the other watches back in his pocket, grabbed the next piece of scrap metal Sir MK handed him, and really did start getting back to work.

At least the music Master K was making was raising his morale…but only slightly.


	31. Catch You on the Flopside

Super Paper Mario X

Chapter 30: Catch You on the Flopside

_"What…What are you thinking? There's no possible way…No one would allow it!"_

_"If we can't be happy here, we must search for a place that will accept our love."_

_"But, Blumiere, is there such a place? Think…I can't bear to see you hurt again."_

_"If our love has no home…let us spend our lives searching together! So I beg of you again…Timpani, marry me! I promise I will make you happy."_

_"You…just won't give up, will you? Of all the crazy…stubborn…foolish men…"_

_"Timpani, answer me, please!"_

_"Blumiere, I love you. Take me away. Take me to a world where we can be happy."_

_. . ._

"Now we've gotten five Pure Hearts…" Tippi announced as the gang returned to Flipside Tower. "This is turning into quite a collection…"

"Grah ha ha ha ha! What'd I tell ya, huh? You've got the king of all evilness on your side! You can't go wrong!" Bowser laughed.

"Yes, yes, tee hee…that said, we owe Squirps for helping us find this one…We should be grateful…"

"Hey, I helped out a lot too," added Samus. "But then again, you guys DID help me put my Power Suit back together, so we're even."

"Say, Tippi…" Peach began, clasping her hands together. "Something seems differently about you recently. You seem a little bit more cheerful…It's a nice change."

"You think so? Well, ever since you saved me from Fort Francis, I've been feeling really good…I feel like I could just hang around with you guys forever…Tee hee hee…"

"So, you're all back?" Merlon asked, approaching the group in all his wizardly glory. Kirby eagerly jumped in front of everyone and nodded.

"Yup! And along the way we ate a lot of chocolate!"

"How was it this time, then? Did you find another Pure Heart in outer space?"

"Yeah, we found the fifth Pure Heart," Tippi responded. "And this one-"

A sudden flash of light blinded everyone, Tippi being caught in the middle of it. She let out a small "URK!" before her wings went perfectly still and she floated to the ground like a leaf that fell off a tree. Tippi lay, barely moving, on the ground. Mario and Merlon jumped, and everyone gasped in shock as Peach cried, "Huh? ! Wh-What!"

"Tippi!" Merlon exclaimed, quickly and carefully picking her up. "What has happened? All of you, come to my house at once! Hurry, now!"

"Can we all even fit into his house?"

"Now's not the time to be asking such a question!"

. . .

Once they had all somehow managed to squeeze into Merlon's house, he placed Tippi on the table that once held the Light Prognosticus. Everyone quickly gathered around, wondering if she would turn out okay.

"Very well, let's all take a breath and gather ourselves here…I'm concerned…" Merlon ordered, making the buzz among the crew simmer down considerably. "Tippi may be unable to retain her Pixl form for much longer."

"Her Pixl form?" Bowser boomed, asking the question that was on everyone's mind. "What the heck does THAT mean?"

"Well, you see, Tippi was not always a Pixl…I found her in her true form, exhausted, cursed to wander through dimensions forever. She was hanging by a thread…barely alive…so I had to take desperate measures…Using my ancestor's magic, I turned her soul into a Pixl…and this Tippi was born."

"I can hardly believe it…" Peach whispered, delicately placing a hand on Mario's shoulder. "So where is Tippi from originally, then?"

Merlon hung his head, his face now even more hidden by his massive hood. "She had lost her memory, so I have no idea who she is or where she is from…but I can't help but thinking she did not come here by chance. Fate connects us…and my intuition in this area is rarely mistaken."

"That would explain why she never seems to recall much…" Kirby trailed, staring at the butterfly on the table. "Poor Tippi…"

A tremor suddenly shook the room, and its effects rushed all through the town. Bowser looked like he was about to fall over while Samus asked, "What was that?"

"The Void has grown larger," Merlon explained. "And these tremors have become common, I am afraid. Our situation grows more dire by the moment. Will the events written in the Light Prognosticus really forestall the foretold doom?"

"Only the Man in Green knows…" Amy muttered under her breath, only to be jabbed by Link's elbow.

"I will watch over Tippi. Young heroes, take the Pure Heart…Find the next Heat Pillar!"

**Outside His House-**

"So…where exactly shall we search for the next Heart Pillar?" Zelda asked.

"Yeah, we've pretty much been everywhere there is to go in Flipside, and we've only found four heart Pillars," Link added.

Once again, it looked like it was up to Mario to think this one through. It was true- they had been everywhere in Flipside…or had they? He turned to Kirby to see if he had any comment on the situation.

"Whuzzut?" he abruptly snapped back to his senses- he had been distracted by thinking about that chocolate. "You want to know if we're overlooking anything?"

Mario nodded- Kirby HAD said he explored Flipside during his stay, and he probably knew more about it than anyone else in the group. He put a small hand on his chin and thought it over.

"Well…have you really been to the first floor of Flipside?"

"Yup! We went to have Saffron make us some soup that revived Peach," Link explained. "Besides that…no, not really."

"Oh…well, there's a cracked wall on that floor, and I was just wondering whether or not you blew it up yet."

"That was before we even had Boomer!" Peach yelped.

"…wait, so you're saying the only means we have of finding the next Heart Pillar is to break down a wall?" questioned Ganondorf. "…awesome. Let's tear it down!"

**Flipside First Floor**-

"See? _See? See? **See?**_Oveeeeeeeer THERE!"

Kirby led the way, now that the gang was on the first floor. They walked past Saffron's place- where Link almost entered, but was promptly pulled away by Zelda. They were at the far end, where there was a large crack in the wall, just like Kirby had predicted.

"Plus you can even tell that there's more of the town on the other side!" Kirby exclaimed.

Link grabbed Boomer, then placed him in front of the crack. After snapping his fingers, Boomer detonated, and revealed a way to get into the final part of Flipside.

…however, it didn't really look like there was a hole…

"What in the- we blew up a wall to reveal more wall? !"

"Um, not quite," Samus sighed, flipping into 3D. "The only reason it looks like it leads to more wall is because that's how it looks in 2D…"

Mario, Link, Sonic, and Kirby followed her moments later, and the five of them marched through the opening. When they removed control, the other six caught up with them.

"Well what do you know…" Amy trailed.

"Hmph! This is beyond me, seriously…" pouted Bowser.

Mario looked around at the new area- a few people lingered about, but it was no more exciting than the rest of the town. What did happen to catch Mario's eyes, however, was a sparkling little thing of white in the middle of a window on the back wall.

It was a dimensional rip.

He tugged on Eggman's sleeve and pointed at it, Eggman quickly taking the hint. He summoned Fleep and directed the Pixl over to the rip. When Fleep flipped to see what lurked behind in a separate dimension, a blue block appeared in its place.

"…that's not odd."

"Why would there be a blue block in a separate dimension?"

Instead of questioning the phenomenon, Mario jumped under the block and waited to see what would happen. A square drew itself onto the wall…then fell out of sight. Everyone instantly poked their heads through.

"Woah…"

"Where do you think it leads to?" asked Peach.

"From my perspective, it looks like it leads straight into the Void!" exclaimed Eggman.

"Well, let's look at it from a different perspective, shall we?" Sonic took control and threw up his hands, the rest of his team doing the same. When they entered the third dimension, the five of them were surprised to see a path…and an odd building up ahead.

"Now that is definitely interesting," Samus commented. They made their way over to the door of the building, entered it, then removed control.

The room they had entered had glass windows on its walls, with designs that depicted what could be assumed to be the Ancients. Besides that, the majority of the room was white…with a rainbow of blocks lined down the center of the room. Zelda walked up to the purple one and lightly brushed her hand on it.

"What do you think this place is?" she whispered.

"It's called Mirror Hall," stated Kirby. "Merlon told me about it. Very, very few people know of its existence, since, you know, they can't teleport into 3D. It was building in honor of the Ancients, hence why there's portraits of them on the wall.

"But what do the blocks mean?" grumbled Bowser.

"I say we hit each one of them once, just to see what happens," shrugged Sonic, standing under the dark blue one.

"Am I the only one that thinks the colors represent the Pure Hearts?" Peach asked. "After all, the colors match up so far…"

"Do you really think there's a black Pure Heart?" Zelda questioned, receiving a shrug from Peach.

"Considering that would technically be the last Pure Heart, maybe the door it opens up is black…"

Mario stood under the red, Samus under the orange…Peach stood under the yellow, while Link took the green…Amy offered to hit the light blue one since Sonic took dark blue…Kirby claimed the purple, and Zelda got the black.

Bowser, Ganondorf, and Eggman watched as Mario hit his block, followed by the others in color order. When Zelda hit her block at last, the mirror in the center of the room shattered.

"Oh no, we broke it!" cried Amy.

"Calm down, that might have been a good thing," Samus stated.

"But how-"

Once again, Team Mario took control and went into 3D, going to the place the mirror once blocked off. This place wasn't called Mirror Hall for nothing- it looked just like the other side of the hall, only a lot darker. Mario saw a door to their left, and headed on through it.

"…did Flipside get a makeover while we went through that hall?" Kirby asked.

"I don't think this is Flipside…" Sonic trailed.

True, it did look like Flipside, only with different colors, a bit of a darker atmosphere, and the everything was, frankly, flip-flopped. Just like in Flipside, there was a path leading away from Mirror Hall, so the group walked down it. They returned back to 2D when they reached the other side, and the other two teams got an eyeful of the new place as well.

"Flipside did some serious renovations in such a short time," stated Bowser.

"These _aren't _renovations…" Samus told him. "We're in a new place entirely!"

"How can you tell? It looks just like Flipside!" Eggman protested.

"But it isn't, is it?"

**Not Flipside, Second Floor-**

On the floor above where they came from looked exactly like Flipside- it had the store, the fortunetelling place, the elevator, and even Merlon's house! It was all just…mirrored.

Even in front of "Merlon's" house was a guy that looked like Merlon! …too bad it wasn't him.

"Everything we know is a lie!"

"Easy there Link…"

"I welcome you!" the Merlon-man greeted as the group walked up to him. "I knew you would come by eventually!"

Mario: …?

"Ho oh! I can see that you would like to ask me where in the world we are!"

"Yeah, that'd be great," Ganondorf said while rolling his eyes.

And during this, Amy mysteriously wandered away…

"Ho oh oh ho! This place may seem like Flipside, but do not be mistaken! You WERE in Flipside, but then you flip-flopped sides…Friends, you are in Flopside!"

"Flopside?" "Oh gee, that's original…" "Who are you and what have you done with…uh…everything!"

"Which means I am not the Merlon you know…I am the Flopside version, a different Merlon entirely…you may call me… Norlem!"

"Seriously, this place has the most creative names ever!"

"Quiet Ganondorf!"

Mario just looked thoughtful while Norlem continued.

"Don't you see? Ours has always been a story of two towns…but the only ones who know about this flip-floppery are Merlon and I!"

No one said anything.

"…you seem a bit surprised."

"Only slightly."

"Ho oh oh ho…there is a front and a back to all things, young ones…"

"I'm pretty sure he's not referring to you two," snickered Bowser while giving Eggman and Ganondorf a smug look. They just ignored the insult, despite the burning rage inside Ganondorf to do something about it…or just redirect it all towards Eggman.

"Now, the Heart Pillar is one floor up! Go and place the Pure Heart within it! See you!"

Norlem vanished into his house, leaving the heroes a bit more cleared up on their situation, but still confused nonetheless.

"…Mer- I mean, Norlem said that the Heart Pillar was a floor up…" Link began. "It sounds like it'd be in the place where the first Heart Pillar was, only the position being flip-flopped.

"And I would assume that it's the same for the other Pillars," added Kirby.

"That makes finding future ones a lot easier," Peach chimed in.

**Flopside Third Floor-**

"Score one point for Link! There's the Pillar, just where I said it would be!"

"And that's one point versus, what, five hundred for the rest of us?"

"Don'tcha mean over 9000? !"

"Oh, hush Bowser."

Mario marched over to the heart Pillar while Link engaged in a heated debate against everyone else. He brought out the light blue Pure Heart in all its gloriously glory, then allowed it to float out of his grasp and place itself into the slot.

. . .

Back on the Flipside Tower, a light blue door appeared next to the green one, leading into the crew's next destination.

. . .

"You appear to be performing your duties efficiently!" Norlem indicated as he appeared on the scene. "I just got a message from Merlon. Tippi's been revived! They are waiting for you at the top of Flipside Tower. Hurry! You must go there!"

"Quick! Let's go!" Peach cried, starting to run off only to be held back.

Mario whipped out the return pipe, and before anyone could stop him (or prepare themselves), he used it.

**Flipside Tower-**

"You've REALLY gotta stop doing that."

Mario: ^^;

Just then, Amy returned to the group via the elevator. Everyone watched her arrive, then did a double-take: no one even saw her leave!

"Where in the worlds did you go?" asked Sonic. Amy just strode right up to Link and looked proud.

"I bought a pipe that can take us from Flipside to Flopside so we don't have to go through Mirror Hall again. A genius move on my part," she said confidently. "Good things I managed to save us up all those coins, or I wouldn't have even had enough!"

"You wasted our delicate expenses?" gasped Link. "How much did this so-called pipe cost?"

"Three hundred coins."

Link nearly doubled over. "_What! ?"_

"Wouldn't be the first time you got unknowingly stripped of three hundred coins," snickered Samus.

"Yeah, but last time they all went to charity!" Kirby reminded her.

Link turned to Kirby and Samus and gave them a look. "Hey, I was getting my black eye checked out at the time! And what do _you_ know- you two weren't even there!"

Amy just folded her arms. "I told you that money would come in handy!"

"Now we're dirt poor again!"

"Not if we collect more money, duh!" Bowser scoffed. "Seriously, where do we find these people?"

"I think Amy made a good choice," Zelda stated, giving Amy a pat. Link's jaw dropped.

"She took three hundred coins-"

"Oh, what were we going to use the money for anyway?"

"We could have brought CARDS!"

Awkward silence.

"See? We don't have time to be wasting hard-earned cash on a trading card game or something…"

"What? No! We could find new info about enemies, and, oh I don't know…increase the damage we do to those enemies?"

"Hey, at least this pipe will prove useful in the future," Zelda finished.

Link held his breath. "Fine…but she could have at least _told _us-"

"You would have said no," Amy shrugged.

Before Link could whip up a comeback, Tippi's soft voice suddenly rang out.

"You're back."

"Tippi!" Peach cheered, running to Tippi and Merlon loitering in front of the latest door on the tower.

"Hey, Tipps, you doing alright?" Sonic asked. Tippi nodded.

"I'm feeling better now…let's get going."

"Are you sure you're feeling well enough, my dear?" Merlon asked, tilting his head.

"I'll be fine. This is no time to stay in bed anyway. And I…I want to be near Mario and all his friends…"

"Then I will not hold you back. These good people will surely need your knowledge…Heroes. Please take good care of Tippi."

"You have our word," Peach promised, as everyone agreed in one way or another. Tippi, even though she didn't show it due to her reserved nature, was absolutely thrilled to be with the group again. She floated between Peach and Mario ecstatically- it was good to be back. And she was going to do everything in her power to help out…

But…was it just her or…was she slowly, very slowly…getting her memories back?

. . .

Still worried about Tippi's condition, Mario and friends opened the fifth door. They still needed to find three Pure Hearts…but the imminent destruction of the world was approaching at an alarming pace. Would Mario have enough time to save the day? And what foul trick would Count Bleck and his goons come up with next? This adventure grew more dangerous…and more thrilling…with every step!

* * *

**A. Amy Rose defied psychics when she bought that pipe. (For those that don't know, the guy you buy the pipe from is found in Flopside in the third dimension...which explains itself...but let's just say he took a quick stroll in 2D and she found him. ;D)**

**B. When I was looking over the chapter, I didn't get one of my own jokes. XD **

**C. You gotta admit, the ending to this chapter is the perfect way to signal the halfway mark in the story! (even though it's one chapter off. :P)**


	32. Downtown of Crag

Super Paper Mario X

Chapter 31: Downtown of Crag

The fifth world drew itself into existence like the places before it, this one taking on the form of a prehistoric world. Two cavemen-like people climbed onto a slab of rock in the middle of nowhere- one was tall and had a triangle head, the other was shorter and had a circle head.

Above them appeared the door, and the eleven heroes plus Pixls.

"Oh my, where are we?" Tippi gasped upon entering the new world.

"Well how are we supposed to know? We just got here too!" commented Ganondorf.

"Quite a nice view in midair…but I can't yet see the Pure Heart…"

Everyone froze. Peach meekly raised a hand.

"Um…did you say…midair?"

"Wait…midair? !"

"Cue epic falling scene!"

"WAAAH!"

Tippi and the Pixls simply stayed in the air while the heroes fell to the ground. The rainbow butterfly hung her head.

"Oh dear…"

. . .

"Oh! Cragga wagga woo!"

"Craggit daggit YOOOO!"

"Brah! Big Rock Who Watches! Cragnons just little rocks! Cragnons need help! You hook Cragons up, brah! Or Cragons go CRONCH and then no more Cragons!"

"End of all Cragnons coming! NO WAY! MUST CRAG ON! Save us Cragnons, brah!"

"Criggly craggly CROOO!"

"Cragga wagga doo GOO!"

The heroes then landed between the two dancing Cragnons, making them jump with the sudden appearance. The triangle-headed one instantly screamed: "OH, CRAG!"

"Wh-What in Crag?" stammered the other, not believing his eyes.

"Ooh…that was pleasant…" grunted Sonic as everyone stood up. Mario was currently adjusting his cap so it was out of his face when Tippi returned down to them.

"…are you all right?"

"For falling out of midair, yeah, I feel pretty good," said Kirby, rubbing his head.

"Were fine, Tippi," Peach replied while dusting herself off.

"Whoa…Skarn! You see people drop out of sky, brah?"

The Cragnon known as Skarn nodded. "Yah, Jasperoid…thought I was losing my crag, brah. People shaped weird, huh? Wait! You think maybe…people sent down to help by Big Rock Who Watches?"

"Huh? Who're you looking at, rock lips? You never seen a burly king of evil before?" questioned Bowser while resisting the urge to strike a pose.

"I'm looking at you, and I still haven't seen a burly king of evil," commented Ganondorf bluntly, getting Eggman to snicker. "Unless, of course, you count myself-"

"Oh, please!" Amy groaned.

"You guys are way too full of yourselves…" murmured Samus while turning away. Apparently Skarn and Jasperoid didn't notice their conversation, because they were slowly inching closer to the group.

"Brah, these things look mad. If they start cragging out, I run! Serious…" trailed Jasperoid. "But…huh. Thought that Big Rock Who Watches send someone…less ugly. Or cooler."

Mario: Ahem, "cooler"?

"You can't get any cooler than us!" declaring Link, tossing one arm into the air as if to prove his point.

"And no one can get cooler than me," Sonic threw in, only to be nearly hit in the head by Samus.

Bowser looked twice as offended as everyone else. "Hold up. Did I just hear the word "UGLY"?

"They didn't even refer to us!" Zelda complained.

"You should be glad that they didn't," retorted Peach.

"Take what we get, brah!" Skarn replied to Jasperoid. "Big Rock Who Watches must have plan for Cragnons.

"Point well cragged, brah."

"These guys are pretty craggy, huh?" Link snickered.

"Oh no…" "I sense a series of jokes while we're here…" "Let this "Rock That Watches" have mercy…"

"What's wrong? And I cragging up the wrong crowd?"

"I have no idea what that means, but the answer is probably yes," huffed Eggman.

The two Cragnons managed to somehow scoop up Mario, Peach, and Bowser, which was an obvious sign for the others to follow as they made the getaway.

"Quick, they're being crag-napped!"

"Cork it, Link!"

"Hands off the merchandise!" Bowser roared.

"Put me down right now!" cried Peach. She'd already been carried around by Koopatrols enough…

Mario: *no comment*

Tippi watched as the leaders were carried off and the rest of the group gave chase. She furiously flew after everyone.

"You stop that this instant!"

**In a Craggin' House-**

"…we didn't ask you to take us to your leader, you know."

"Crag it, weird one!"

Kirby looked offended and folded his arms. "Well then!"

They now stood before an elder Cragnon that was shivering like crazy, whether because he was old, cold, jittery…or just all three.

"Servants…of Big Rock Who Watches-"

"Wait a second, who said we served a rock?"

"-You big boulders, we just gravel bits…"

"Where in the worlds are we? And what are you…things?" Tippi inquired, staring at the elder strangely.

"This is the land of Cragnons," Jasperoid explained. "Me Cragnon, him Cragnon, this land of Cragnons."

Ganondorf sighed. "We get the point…"

"It's not rocket science, brah," scoffed Skarn. "Anyway, big brah here is Marbald, chief of all Cragnons."

"Cragnons? What?"

"O great servants of Big Rock Who Watches…" Marbald continued. "Cragnons having trouble down here…Serious. Bad. Big, big danger…"

"Oh yeah? What kind of 'danger' are you people experiencing, huh?" smirked Samus. "Probably nothing we couldn't take care of…"

"One day…freak plant-people came…Nerd Cragnon named them Floro Sapiens. They kidnap many Cragnons…We were peaceful brahs…They give peace no chance…Rescue team of Cragnons…now need to BE rescued…We are at the end of our crag…How do we save Cragnons? No ideas come to Marbald, and we keep losing Cragnons…"

"Sounds tragic…"

"This bad, brahs…Cragnons must work this out, or Cragnons go ex…" Marbald whirled around to face the group, shouting: "EXTINCT, BRAH!"

As Marbald continued to ramble, Skarn and Jasperoid continued to mumble to themselves.

"Bummer, brah!" "So weak, brah!"

"You prune Floro Sapiens…You save kidnapped buds…you hook Cragnons up…"

Mario: Sure thing, brah!

"Great, now you've got Mario doing it!" complained Peach, glancing at Link from over her shoulder.

"You can't possibly blame _me_-"

"Yah? You not cragging my chain?" Marbald gasped, staring at Mario. "Cragnons owe you big time, brahs…"

"Count Bleck, Floro Sapiens, whatever…" grunted Bowser. "Stomping fools is my business! Show me a fool, I'll stomp it! I don't even need a reason!"

"How typical."

Before Bowser could wail on whoever had said that 'without a reason', a Cragnon that looked like Jasper bolted through the door.

"TUH-TUH-TERRIBLE, BRAH! King Croacus return!"

Marbald was stunned. "Wha-What?"

"Village Cragnons kidnapped! Please…Cragnons needed hooking up, brah!"

"Servants of Big Rock Who Watches…You hear that, right, kind brahs? Please! You help! You hook up Cragnons!"

**Outside-**

*insert insane laughter*

"These people are terrified of **_sunflowers?"_**

Bowser was laughing so hard he could hardly breath, Amy was on the verge of choking with her giggles, and everyone else had tears streaming down their faces. One of the Floro Sapiens, a yellow petaled one, had walked up to them, and the group couldn't resist cracking up at the threat.

"Crazee Dayzees are way more terrifying than these guys!" snorted Eggman.

"It's almost kinda cute!"

The Floro Sapient just stared at the creatures laughing on the ground before reciting the speech he had practiced.

"Hey, check it out, man! Haven't seen these one before, have we?"

A second Floro walked up, nodding agreement. "Yeah, for sure, must be some sort of rare breeds or something, right?"

"Yeah, rare breed, totally! Sweet timing, too! We need a Pure Heart polisher! Score!"

Mario: Say what-

"They know about…ha ha…the Pure Heart!" Kirby managed to gasp between chuckles.

The flowers ignored the group and continued their discussion. "Our super-might leader, King Croacus, will be STOKED to have a rare breed! Let's tenderize them a bit and tote them back, dude!"

Mario was a bit surprised to see that they attacked by throwing their heads, but they were still quick work since Ganondorf used his powers on the spot. Bowser still had to snicker at how pathetic they were.

"Hmm…seems as if the leaders of these uncouth things has the Pure Heart…" pondered Tippi. "We'd best try to find him…"

"HEEEEELP!"

"Good gosh, it's one thing after another with these people!"

This time, a quintet of the "sunflowers" (with the leader being red) were carrying away four Cragnons who were flailing around helplessly in their grasp.

"Floro Sapiens are taking more villagers!" Tippi announced for those who still didn't know what was going on.

"So? We don't have to save them" scoffed Ganondorf.

"But, if we follow them, I bet they'll lead us right to their hideout!" Peach exclaimed.

"They'll take us right to their leader, brah!" cackled Link.

Mario just shook his head and started running after the Floro Sapiens making off with the Cragnons. Amy jumped on Carrie and flew ahead of everyone else chasing the fiends. They rushed by houses filled with cowering Cragnons, dashed over the "worshiping rock", and ran over a log bridge placed over a dirty river. The flowers escaped through a red-rainbow door, the crew still on their heels.

. . .

"They're fleeing…" Tippi trailed, watching them run to the left. "I wonder where they're headed…We must follow them…"

"What else are we going to do?"

"Go to the right, jumped down a pipe, and claim this card with a picture of Bowser in his tux!" Kirby announced, waving his new find. Everyone's jaws dropped except for Bowser's, who instead ran over and swiped the card out of Kirby's grasp.

"Man, do I look good!"

Mario: *rolls eyes*

"Yeah, looks like we're going to the left though," Kirby shrugged. "It's a dead end the other way."

So the group forged leftward, Team BEG wiping out the Clefts and other enemies strewn out along the path. A Putrid Piranha Plant dropped a Mango, which Link quickly scooped up and stored in his supplies. Kirby ran ahead a ways to bash three blocks, one being a Coin Flower. When the coins started raining down, Amy did her best to catch as many as she could.

They all climbed up the side of the small cliff, Amy finishing collecting coins, Eggman destroying another Moon Cleft, and Link tripping over a pipe, falling into a dead end, but also locating a Moon Cleft card upon flipping into 3D. When he climbed back up and rejoined the group, Mario told Peach to take control, and she, Zelda, and Amy floated across the gap. Zelda then jumped under another ? Block and claimed another coin.

"Well, looks like another dead end, guys," Peach sighed as she removed control.

"That's impossible; the Floro Sapiens had to go somewhere in this direction!" exclaimed Eggman.

"Am I the only one that notices the brown blocks right there?" Samus questioned, her suddenly speaking up made everyone jump.

"Heh heh, I forgot she was even here…" Sonic laughed nervously. "But yeah, I see the blocks too. It looks like they've already been hit though…"

"So what good are they?" shrugged Amy.

Samus folded her arms- er, arm and cannon. "I don't know! Maybe you should hit them again just for the heck of it!"

Mario: *hits blocks left, right, middle in that order*

A pipe appeared.

"Whoa Mario, how'd you know what order to hit them in?" Zelda asked.

Mario: Lucky guess.

. . .

Down the next pipe, the group saw the Floro Sapiens running away in the background, still holding the Cragnons hostage.

"Oh dear, did you see them? Over there!"

"Calm down, Tipps, we're not going to let them get away…" Link assured.

"We're not blind."

"Good, because do you see what I see…" gulped Kirby.

Mario and the rest of the crew turned their heads- roaming along the grassy plains of crag were mammoth-like creatures called Muths, according to Tippi. They each had 100 HP to their name, and there had to be least seven Muths standing in their way…

Bowser, Eggman, and Ganondorf stepped forward, ready to take control and do some serious damage to the monsters. To everyone else's surprise, Samus stepped up as well, hand placed on her cannon.

"It's about time I got use this thing's full potential…" she snickered, crouching down and taking aim at the first Muth. With one hit from a missile, Samus was expecting it to be taken down, but instead, it only did half damage.

"Yeah, these things must be pretty tough if Samus' cannon can't take 'em out in one hit!" gasped Kirby.

"It's still nothing I can't take care of," Samus replied, finishing the Muth off with another blast. Bowser was furious.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" he complained. "This is our area of expertise! If you go around cannon-crazy, we'll be useless!"

"Yeah!" shouted Ganondorf and Eggman, though they weren't really sure where he was going with this. Samus stood back up and approached the villains, making them all take one step back.

"How about…you three versus me. Whoever brings down the most of these things-"

"-gets to be claimed ultimate enemy destroyer! And the Muth you killed already doesn't count," Bowser suddenly wailed. Samus blinked, then shrugged.

"Okay then."

"GO!" roared Ganondorf, running as fast as he could to the second monster. Eggman instantly hit the button on his remote control, bringing his mech to life and prepared to go on a rampage in it. Bowser just made a bold attempt to huff after them. Samus quickly hurried to Amy and asked, "Can I borrow Carrie?"

"Sure thing, Samus!" Amy replied, grabbing Carrie and holding her out to Samus.

"Thanks-" she grabbed Carrie and used her power within the same move. Just about surfing the air with the Pixl, Samus took off, able to move quickly and take aim at the same time.

"They didn't even ask us…" Zelda trailed.

"Who cares? This'll be sweet!" cheered Sonic. "Go, Sam, GO!"

"Someone should have made popcorn…" sighed Kirby.

"Samus is going to beat the crag out of them!" exclaimed Link.

Mario: *sweat drops*

Meanwhile, Eggman was the first to approach the second Muth and instantly went crazy with five lasers, each doing ten points of damage. Ganondorf then cast two walls of purple fire at the monster, doing a total of twenty. Bowser, when he finally caught up, stood his ground in front of the now angry Muth. When it went to charge, Bowser crouched down low and let out a jet of fire, the Muth getting trapped in it three times and finishing off its HP. The villains almost stopped to gloat until Samus whizzed by them on Carrie, blasted at the third Muth twice, and instantly took it out. Team BEG just gaped.

"After her!" Eggman ordered, kicking his mech into overdrive. Ganondorf jumped on the back just so he wouldn't have to walk, while Bowser started struggling to keep up once again. Samus just snickered to herself, approaching the fourth Muth and defeating it within a matter of seconds.

"This is too simple…" she sighed. Samus then grinned mischievously. "I might as well give them somewhat of a fighting chance."

She rocketed past the three remaining Muths, catching all of their attention and making them mad. Samus taunted them, which finally got them to charge. Chuckling to herself, Samus flew away from them.

Eggman and Ganondorf were still trying to reach the fifth Muth, but apparently the fifth Muth (and then some) were about to reach them- and they certainly didn't look happy.

"Oh snap! Turn around! Turn around!" Ganondorf wailed, shaking Eggman. "They're going to stampede over us!"

"It's too late!" Eggman cried back, attempting to hit the attack buttons but getting knocked back by Samus flying over his head. The three Muths plowed right into the duo and took away massive amounts of their HP.

"Hey…huff…what's going on now?" Bowser gasped, still trotting after. Samus whirled by again, making Bowser spin with how fast she flew by, then getting knocked over by Eggman, Eggman's mech, and Ganondorf.

"What the heck-"

"It's a Muth rebellion!" Eggman shouted, pointing toward the trio of furious Muths. Bowser stood back up, then greeted the beasts with a taste of his fire breath. All three stammered back in shock, but charged again almost instantly. Obviously then weren't very smart since they kept running right into Bowser's fire until half their HP was gone. Eggman then flipped the caps off the two buttons on his steering wheel and chuckled darkly.

"Time for some payback…"

He hit the two buttons as two sets of rocket launched jetted out of the sides of his machine. With another press, ten missiles went flying out, five hitting the fifth Muth and five hitting the sixth. Everyone ducked as a massive cloud of dust rose as a sign of the aftermath.

"Ack! Sputter…" I can't see!" complained Bowser and Ganondorf.

"I can!"

The three were plowed over by Samus now, who raced down the middle of the path on Carrie with her cannon aimed at the final Muth. With a loud "KA-BOOM", a missile blasted out of Samus' cannon and defeated the final Muth. She blew the smoke off the end.

"And I believe that makes the score a tie," she concluded, floating over to the villains. "Unless, of course, you'd like to count the first I brought down-"

"No, we're good, thank you…" grumbled Ganondorf.

"I must say, Miss Aran's fighting style is effective," pondered Eggman. Samus gave a mock bow.

"I aim to impress."

Sonic let out a groan.

"That was sweet! Can we see things blow up again?" Kirby asked, jumping around excitedly.

"No, we need to follow those Floro Sapiens!" protested Tippi.

"There's another set of darkened blocks over here…" Zelda pointed out, walking to the far right. "They have to conjure up a pipe like the last set because there's a pipe in the background…"

"Good work Zelda!" Link exclaimed, putting an arm around her. "Now, what's the order to this one?"

Mario tried every possible combination he could think of, and even tried some twice, but no matter what he did, the pipe wouldn't appear.

"Well that's great- what do we do now?" Bowser exasperated.

"Guys…" Sonic began, his voice donning a dark tone. Amy raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah…?"

"I think…we might need to…" he whipped out a flashlight as the sky went briefly dark and cackled, "BACKTRACK!"

Mario knew a flash of lighting struck the sky just before it returned back to normal.

**Back at the Village-**

No one was entirely sure what to do next- currently, there was no way to catch up with the Floro Sapiens, and it was unanimously decided that someone in the village would know what to do. If no one did…then the gang was out of luck. Mario decided to try the Cragnon that was standing on the log over the river to see what he knew.

"Garbage into the river, CRAG! Every day into the river, YAG! Toss it and it gone, GRAG!" he sang.

"What in the world are you doing?" Zelda questioned instantly. The Cragnon turned her way and struck a pose.

"What is Marl doing? Throwing trash into the river, obviously. Use your crag."

"You got told," Link stated afterwards. Zelda gave him a long look while Peach started panicking.

"He's dumping trash into the river!" she cried. "That explains why the water looks so murky and gross…"

"We return trash to nature, brah! Cannot afford to waste garbage! Everybody knows that!"

"I really hope that's not their only supply of water…" Samus cringed. "Yuck."

"Well, that guy was certainly helpful," Bowser announced sarcastically before walking up to Jasperoid. "Looks like it's time for me to take action."

"Don't take TOO much action!" Kirby chirped behind him.

Mario sensed another "Little Boy Assault" coming on, and he went to go prevent it from happening, but to his shock Bowser just tapped the Cragnon's shoulder. Mario nearly fainted. Jasperoid calmly turned around and wasn't terrified by the sight of a brute hulking over him.

"Bummed out, brah? That not face of person getting their crag on. Jasperoid know what you need. It put a smile on your face, crag you not. You hear it?"

"Heck yeah; what else are we going to do?" Bowser bellowed. Everyone standing behind him just groaned. Jasperoid just started to chuckle.

"Heh…Jasperoid not tell you for free…"

"What! Then forget it!"

"Bowser-"

"Hey, be chill brah…Jasperoid not want money. Jasperoid just want you to…say "please" real quick. Then Jasperoid tell you."

"I'd rather give your our Gold Bar."

"Oh come on, Bowser! It's just a word!" Sonic teased.

"Yeah, it won't kill ya," threw in Zelda.

"Don't give in to such indignity!" yelled Ganondorf, who was promptly hit in the head by Samus. Peach gave Bowser a pleading look, and for whatever reason he couldn't find the heart to say no.

"Grrrr…puh-puh-puh-"

"Oh come on! You act like you've never said "please" before!" scoffed Amy.

"He probably hasn't…" Samus muttered.

"Being king apparently made him think he can break down walls and take what he want whenever he feels like it," Eggman stated. Mario had to agree with him at least. Bowser stuck his tongue out at all of them then turned back to Jasperoid.

"…please."

"Mmm…Jasperoid not sure one time is enough, brah. How about one more time?"

"Please?"

"Mmm…Jasperoid not feeling it, brah. Maybe you not giving it "oomph" You say it three times! And put some crag into it, brah!"

Bowser twitched. "OOMPH? ! I'll give _you_ oomph-"

"Bowser, don't pound him in the face. Just say please, brah," snickered Link.

"Please. Please? PLEASE!"

Jasperoid nodded in approval. "Yah…nice brah…"

Bowser toppled over. Mario rolled his eyes.

"I think he collapsed from saying "please" so much at once…"

"I think he fainted just from saying "please" for once in his life."

"Psh, _please_! What a wimp!" scoffed Kirby, with Link cracking up in the background.

"Jasperoid can tell you really want to hear big secret. Jasperoid feeling it, brah! So, here information nug for you brah. It kind of long though. You may be write it down so you not forget it."

"On it!" called Eggman, whipping out a pen and paper. Ganondorf scoffed.

"Why am I not surprised…"

"Oh hush. At least someone in this group comes prepared."

"You make sure to get this all down brah. Next time you three blocks lined up, bonk them like this…" Eggman clicked his pen. "Middle…right…left…Left, right, middle, right, left, right, right… middle right right left middle middle left left left right left left left middle middle! That's it! You write it down?"

"I'd better inspect this…" Kirby trailed, scanning over Eggman's note. "Yeah, it looks about right. Can we warp back to the block trio now?"

"At least wait until he's finished talking," Zelda stated.

"But the people in these dimensions talk nonstop!" whined Sonic. However, Jasperoid just wished them "a nice crag" and sent them on their way.

**Back With the Second Trio of Blocks-**

"Alright, so who wants to jump?" Amy asked.

"I nominate Link," Peach replied almost instantly. Link grunted.

"Hmph! Then I nominate Peach!"

"I say we make Sonic do it," Eggman replied casually.

"Let's force Eggman to do it!" threw in Ganondorf.

"Hey…did we forget to bring Bowser with us?" Zelda asked. Samus sighed, jumped on Carrie, and flew back to the village.

"I've got it…"

"Perhaps Mario should do it- he's the jumper kind of guy," Sonic continued.

Mario: You do it.

"Why?"

Mario: You're faster!

"Ha! And there's no way you can deny that!" Eggman cackled. Sonic tapped his foot impatiently while thinking it over.

"Okay, fine…"

He rolled up into ball form and bounced under the blocks at breakneck speed, listening to Eggman tell him to hit them in the order of middle, right, left, left, right, middle, right, left, right, right, middle, right, right, left, middle, middle, left, left, left, right, left, left, left, middle, middle. When he stood back up looking proud of himself, a pipe appeared that lead to the background. Just before they all stepped in, Samus return, pulling a still KOed Bowser behind her by the tail.

"…what'd I miss?"

"Me hitting blocks, nothing too special," Sonic replied as he took off down the pipe. The group emerged into the background, walking to the right until they bypassed the supposed dead-end. On the other side was an identical pipe.

"Hey look! The Star Block!" Kirby cheered as he jumped out of the pipe. "Isn't that convenient?"

"it would have been so much easier if we didn't have to figure out which blocks to hit…" mumbled Tippi. She then hid a glance at Samus. "…and if we didn't have that Muth killing race."

"Hey, that was fun!" Samus protested.

Mario trudged to the Star Block and hit it like always. Not that the Land of the Cragnons was such a bad place, but what time-consuming endeavors would they be put through next?

. . .

In pursuit of the abducted Cragnons, Mario and Co. headed for the Gap of Crag. What did the Floro Sapiens want? And where was King Croacus with the Pure Heart? Despite their hustling pace, our heroes never caught sight of the Floro Sapiens. But Mario didn't give up. He knew his fleet feet would catch them eventually…

* * *

**Ah, Chapter 5...how I despise it. :D It only beats out Chapter 4 because it's not as frustrating and/or repetative...but it's still a close second. (though Chapter 5-2 was fun to write, I'll admit.)**

**Oh, and happy birthday Mechanical Oven and Charz456! (two really good friends of mine! ^^)**


	33. Pixls, Tablets, and Crag

Super Paper Mario X

Chapter 32: Pixls, Tablets, and Crag

"There! We've caught up to the fiends…" Tippi cried, spotting the Floro Sapiens running just out of their reach in the plains ahead.

"I dunno Tipps, I really wouldn't call a flower a fiend."

They escaped through a red door on the far side of the area, and Mario started to bound after them. Samus jumped on Carrie and took off after him.

"Good to know things are starting to pick up a little…"

She fired her cannon at an unsuspecting Pokey lurking around, then plotted to take out anything else on the path. Meanwhile, Peach, Zelda, and Amy glided over pipes and defeated Putrid Piranhas, while the rest of Team Mario went into 3D to avoid the pipes, with Team BEG waiting until they all got by.

"Hey look at the green Squigs!" Kirby exclaimed, spying a group of them walking around. "They're almost kind of cute!"

"This species is actually known as Squogs," Tippi explained. "They're a bit stronger than your average Squig…"

Mario beat Samus to the punch and jumped on them all until they were no more. Everyone blinked at the sudden action, but said nothing. He realized everyone was staring at him, so he ordered everyone to keep going. With shrugs, the group did so. The door was just past a small body of water, so Sonic made sure to sit firm on the platform until he was at the other side.

"I bet it's not even that deep," derided Ganondorf, glancing at Sonic then back at the water.

"I say we grab him and throw him in," Eggman suggested.

"You are doing no such thing!" Zelda huffed, grabbing Sonic and pulling him through the door. Bowser just grumbled something under his breath.

"How come we never get to have fun…?"

. . .

"All right guys, this looks like an interesting place!" Link announced.

"The Floro Sapiens! They're over there!" Tippi exclaimed again, facing the right and fluttering frantically. Just a few paces away, the clan of Sunflowers were making their way down a pipe. Sonic hurried over there, but just as he was about to jump into the pipe, a large yellow block covered the entrance. Sonic smacked into it and landed in a heap on the ground.

"Well, they got away…"

"You should have used me!" stated Dashell. "Seriously!"

"Disappeared down a pipe, did they?" Tippi questioned.

"Yeah, a pipe that's being squashed by a giant yellow cube!" wailed Kirby. "How are we supposed to get by that?"

Mario didn't even know- once again, this would be a great opportunity to obtain a Super Hammer (or Ultra Hammer, considering how late in the adventure they were), but he highly doubted that would happen.

"Mario might not have a hammer," Amy suddenly said, as if she was reading Mario's thoughts. "But I've got one! Our troubles are over!"

She pulled out her trusty tool, spinning it between her fingers before taking a firm grip on it. Amy then charged, holding it high over her head as she ran toward the cube. The group cheered her on. Amy sprung into the air, brought the hammer down over her head, and struck the block with as much strength as she could muster.

Amy vibrated as a result of aftermath and fell out of the air. When she stopped shaking violently, she held up her hammer, only for it to suddenly split in half.

"..."

"..."

"..."

_"...WHAAAAT! ?"_

"Goodness! Amy's hammer broke, let alone didn't even work!" gasped Zelda. Kirby nervously stared at his own hammer and hid it behind his back.

"Yeah, Mario better be getting an upgrade after this one…"

"What are we supposed to do now?" complained Ganondorf.

"This might take a bit of exploring…I'm sure we'll find something," Link decided.

Amy, meanwhile, was still staring in shock at her main weapon.

"After all these years it could break through anything…but it was defeated with one foul blow! Wah…"

"Don't you have a spare, Amy?" Peach asked. "I thought you always carried more than one?"

Amy shook her head. "This was the only one I brought…"

Mario told Amy that they'd figure something out, and at least she still had a backup hammer at home. Amy nodded, then stood back up.

"Okay then…what way should we go first if we're going to try to find anything?"

"That way!" shouted Link, Sonic, Kirby, Zelda, Bower and Eggman, all pointing in different directions. Samus, Peach, and Ganondorf face palmed.

"Maybe we should just explore this general area first before making any hasty decisions," Samus said at last, face still resting in her hand. "That way, we can think up a plan from there."

"Good thinking, Sam!" Sonic just about shouted, slapping Samus on the back. "I call going to the right!"

"Wait for me Sonic!" Amy called after him.

"I'm going with you two; I don't trust both of you together..." Samus stated bluntly while taking off after. Mario, Peach, and Kirby climbed up a hill that stood behind the yellow block, while Team BEG, Link, and Zelda went to the left.

"And remember, no one go through any doors!" Samus called.

"Psh, look at her. Treating this like a commando mission or something," grumbled Ganondorf.

"Well, there isn't anything wrong with a little strategizing-" Eggman started to say.

"Strategy? Who cares! It's all about breaking down doors and going with the flow!" Bowser interrupted.

"Which would explain why you are never even slightly successful in life," Zelda jeered.

Bowser: D:

"That's just crossing the line, man…"

"What are we supposed to be doing anyway?" asked Ganondorf, changing the subject.

"We're supposed to be investigating the area…" Link trailed, being the only one to survey the surroundings. Glancing up, he saw a door sitting in midair, and he had a feeling that he didn't need Tippi for this one. He quickly flipped into 3D and discovered a blue switch behind a set of brown blocks. He returned to 2D, set Boomer down by the blocks, detonated them, and Zelda hit the switch.

"Glad I could help," Zelda beamed. Link grinned back and watched as two rocks appeared under the door, creating a way to reach it. Bowser started to climb up while Zelda shook her head.

"Remember what Samus said?"

"I don't care what that woman has to say! We can get out of this place faster if we just go at it!"

"Bowser!" "Get back here!" "Hey-"

Bowser grabbed his teammates and dragged them through the door. Link started to go after them while Zelda grabbed the collar of his tunic and face palmed again.

"Just let them be, Link…Samus'll make them pay."

"But…but…**I** wanted to do it!"

Zelda just sighed, grabbed his hand, and led him back. Link still sort of wanted to go back to teach them a lesson, but then thought she was probably right.

**Meanwhile-**

Amy watched solemnly as Sonic and Samus killed any and all enemies in their path. Samus blasted at club-wielding Clubbas while Sonic took out Cherbils and anything else.

"I wish I could help…but I can't with two halves of a hammer!" Amy blubbered.

"C'mon, Amy, it's just a tool," Sonic stated, running past a red door and finding a Clubba sleeping in-between two green pipes. Samus jumped by him and fired at it, defeating it instantly. Amy huffed in response to Sonic.

"But…how am I supposed to fight without it? I might be tough, but I'm not exactly a powerhouse."

Sonic shrugged. "Can't quite answer that one, Ames. Maybe Kirby will let you borrow his for awhile, and he can use that blue knife thing for his main weapon."

"Final Cutter," Samus reminded him without missing a beat. Sonic was prepared to stick his tongue out at her, but she ignored his immature antics and pointed to a stone TV with a moving chalk picture.

Samus assumed it was Crag-vision.

"What's it showing, exactly?" Amy asked. Sonic shrugged.

"Beats me- it kind of looks like a prehistoric BBQ grill to me!"

"I doubt that," Samus said. "But I think we can safely say that there's fire under a stone structure of some sort."

"I like my grill suggestion, thank you-"

"C'mon, let's report back to the others."

Samus motioned for the hedgehogs to follow, Sonic grimacing while Amy hurried after.

**And While That Was Happening-**

"You do have to wonder what's up with a random rock hill in the middle of a prairie," Peach decided with Mario nodding. Kirby just started hoping up the rocks.

"Well, let's go see what's up there!"

"Right," Tippi agreed, fluttering beside Peach as she climbed up as well. Mario saw a ton of brown blocks line up in a straight line going up, thought it was slightly tricky to climb up that way. Kirby had simply started to float up while Peach gave carefully hopping from one block to another a try. Mario, however, flipped into 3D to see the other side of things, and discovered that one block in 2D was a long row of blocks in 3D. Smirking, he made his way up that way, and when he reached the top, he found Peach and Kirby contemplating over the lack of something.

"Well this was a bust," sighed Kirby.

"Now, there's probably something here we're missing…" suggested Tippi. Peach pointed around, trying to see if something was hidden, but before she could even discover anything with Tippi, Mario hopped up next to them and bumped an invisible block. A ladder started to grow out of it, and the trio shared looks.

"Okay, When in doubt, flip about, and if that doesn't work, go crazy with Tippi…and if THAT doesn't work, jump around like an idiot," Peach recited. Mario stifled laughter while Kirby said something about Link's phrase being copyrighted. The htree of them climbed up the ladder and reached a platform they would have never noticed before.

"My goodness, look at these things!" Peach cried feeling one of the three stone things lined up in a row. Each of them had a square slot in the center where something would most likely needed to be placed. It was something Mario was trained to recognize after his previous adventures.

"What do you think would go in here?" Kirby asked, poking at one of the slots.

"I haven't the slight clue…" Peach trailed in response. "Maybe one of the others figured out something. Let's go meet back up with them!"

Mario: Okie dokie!

He free-fell off the platform Sonic-style, as Peach jumped down delicately with her parasol intact. Kirby shouted "WHEE!" before jumping off, inflating himself so he came back down like a balloon.

**Back at the Yellow Block-**

Link and Zelda were already there, hesitantly waiting for the return of the others. Samus arrived before Mario, Kirby, and Peach, but they arrived before Amy and Sonic. Amy practically trudged on her way back while Sonic had to keep pep talking her.

"So, anything to report?" Samus asked.

"Me! Me! Pick me!"

"Yeah Kirby?"

Kirby coughed, then struck a dramatic story-telling pose. "Okay, so there we were…standing before a vast tower of stone! Naturally, we-"

Mario: At the top of the stone mountain is a platform.

"And the platform has three stone monuments on it," Peach added. "Each monument has a slot in it where we believe something needs to be placed, but we don't know what."

"Aw, I wanted to tell the story!" Kirby complained. "But no, you had to make it all boring and right to the point…"

"Interesting," Samus stated. "Nic, Amy, and I found a stone television that showed a fire under a Stonehenge. It's sort of weird, but we think it might be a clue to something."

"What about you two?" Amy asked, glancing at Zelda and Link.

"And what happened to Team BEG?" Sonic questioned as well. Link nervously scratched the back of his head.

"You see…we found a switch that made a door in midair reachable…"

"…and Bowser dragged Eggman and Ganondorf through it," Zelda sighed.

**_"WHAT!"_**

Link shoved Zelda to the ground as a missile narrowly missed hitting them. Samus' cannon was smoking…and well, Samus was herself.

"When I get my hands on that idiot, I'm going to-"

"Eh, I don't think we want to hear what you'd do. You might scar some people mentally," Sonic interrupted while scratching his ear.

Samus stopped in mid-sentence before groaning. "Okay, here's what we'll do. Sonic, Peach, Link, and Zelda, you stay in this area just in case. Mario, Kirby, Amy, and I will go after Team BEG."

"No, I probably should stay here," Amy moaned. "Without my hammer I'll probably be a hindrance to the mission!"

Samus smacked her forehead. "Fine, Sonic, Amy, Peach and Kirby, you stay here. Mario, Link, Zelda, and I will go after Team BEG. Any objections?"

Everyone shook their head no.

"Good."

Mario lead his half of the group toward the door the villains disappeared through , while Peach's half of the group stood around wondering what to do next.

"Man, I never get to be a part of the action anymore…" Sonic sighed, bounding onto the rock mound. "Oh well, we can stay here and chill while they care of business."

"But I'd like to do _something_," Peach huffed, folding her arms stubbornly.

"We could sing a song," Kirby suggested. Amy shook her head.

"No, Sonic isn't much of a singer-"

"HEY! I can sing if I try!"

Peach groaned to herself and climbed onto the rock that Sonic was sitting on. She wasn't sure of Samus' reasons for them staying behind for a bit, but she wanted to do something to help as well. Glancing around, she found something to her pleasure.

"Hey, there's a pipe!" she suddenly cried, getting Amy, Sonic, and Kirby to stop arguing over musical talents and look in her direction. Off to the side of the stone hill was a pipe sitting on a midair platform. Kirby looked around and pointed at the background, where another pipe was jetting out of the ground.

"I'm guessing it leads there…" Amy trailed.

"It looks like we'll need to float across," Peach stated. Amy's face then broke out into pure horror.

"AIIIIIII!"

"What! ?"

"I-I can't glide without my hammer!" she wailed. "I'm even _more_ useless! I never realized what life would be like without my hammer…sniff, I'll never take it for granted again! I-"

"Amy, chill out!"

"Have you even tried fixing you hammer?" Kirby asked. Amy snarled and pulled out the two halves of her weapon.

"It's split in a perfect crack down the middle, Kirby! Unless we've got duct tape or mega-super-ultra glue, there's no fixing this hammer!"

"I'd vouch for the duct tape," said Sonic.

"Too bad I don't have any in my hammer space," sighed Kirby. "I usually have everything!"

"My hammer space is usually empty," pouted Peach. "But back to more important matters-"

"My hammer IS important!"

"I'll take Amy across, and Kirby, you take Sonic across. No big deal!"

Amy whimpered in response as she took Peach's hand. Peach held her umbrella in her other hand, then promptly glided across. Kirby floated upwards, Sonic jumping up after him and latching onto his hands. The four of them floated to the pipe and dropped down into it.

"Whoa…we're at the base of a volcano!" Amy exclaimed.

"Such terrible memories…" shivered Sonic and Kirby. As the other three marveled at the landform, Peach started to climb up the side.

"What're ya doing, Peach?" Sonic yelped. "We don't even know if that thing's active or not!"

"What if it's full of lava?" Kirby. "You know, like volcanoes usually ARE! ?"

"I think it'll be fine," Peach announced, still climbing up. "Trust me!"

"Yeah, you're talking to the guys who nearly died in a volcano," Sonic retorted. "With, ahem, one moreso than the other…"

"Just come on! Where's your sense of adventure?" Amy shot back. Kirby made the classic "ooohing" noise.

"How's Sonic going to recover from that one, folks? !"

Sonic twitched slightly before bolting up the side of the mountain, nearly blowing Peach back down. Within seconds, he had dove straight into the opening at the top. Amy looked proud of herself.

"I always know just what to say, don't I?"

**In the volcano-**

"What do you know? Peach was actually right!" Sonic exclaimed when the other three finally caught up with him.

"I'm always right!" Peach gaped, taking it as some form of insult.

"No, Zelda's usually the one that's right," Amy pointed out.

"And then there's yours truly who is so right, he can practically predict the future!" Kirby cheered. Peach just blew a stray strand of hair out of her face.

"Whatever…"

"Look…there's wall paintings…" Tippi suddenly spoke up, gesturing to the chalky pictures on the wall. A picture of a cube, a picture of a droplet, and a picture of a flame were painted in that order. "Rock…Water…Fire…right?"

"Yeah, that seems right," Sonic nodded. "I'm not completely convinced that ice cube-looking thing is a rock though."

"I wonder if the order they are in matters…"

Peach's eyes widened upon realization. "Maybe that's the order of how we're supposed to place the things in the stone monuments!"

"So, something of rock, something of water, something of fire?" Sonic asked.

Peach nodded. "It would appear so…"

"And if I had to guess, I'd say that the Fire object might be under the Stonehenge we saw on the Crag-vision!" Amy exclaimed.

"But I wonder where we would find the objects of rock and water…" Kirby mused to himself.

**Meanwhile with the Other Half-**

Samus just about kicked down the red rainbow door, ready to blast anything in her path. To their surprise, they found Eggman almost instantly. He was blasting at a Pokey with his laser.

"Will you go away? I'm trying to investigate this dimensional rip!"

As if on cue, the Pokey suddenly broke into pieces, leaving Eggman to stare awkwardly at his laser.

"_I_ did that, egghead," Samus announced, walking up with the others at her side. Eggman coughed and turned around.

"Er…yeah. I should have figured that."

"I told you she was going to make you pay," Zelda smirked.

"If she should be shooting anyone, it should be Bowser," Eggman huffed. He jerked his thumb over his shoulder. "They've been prowling around on the far side for awhile."

"Hey, use Fleep already! I want to know what's behind this rift," Link stated, pointing to the glittery white line in the air.

"I've been meaning to get to that but that Pokey approached me and kept ducking under my lasers!" Eggman replied, grabbing Fleep and pointing to the spot.

"This rip will be no more, amore! Si!"

He spun it around, causing a blue switch to emerge. Mario jumped on it, and two rocks formed underneath another Crag-vision. Zelda burned another Pokey while the rest of the group climbed up.

"Okay, this one is showing a guy running around a…dinosaur?" Link asked.

"That's certainly what it looks like," hummed Eggman.

"I'll keep it in mind…" Samus trailed. "Now, let's go murder that sad excuse for a turtle."

"Someone's violent…" grumbled Link.

"So glad you finally noticed!"

Zelda hid her laugh behind her hand while Link trudged on ahead. Almost as soon as they moved, they came in contact with a Rawbus, a relative of the Jawbus. Mario was quick to take action, flipping into 3D and going around the creature. Now that he was on the side with his weakness, Mario jumped several times on its glowing tail, making it cry out in distress. As he finished that one off, Link went into 3D and got behind a second one, hacking away at its tail.

"First Muths, now mechanical dragons," Zelda sighed. "I wonder what'll be next."

"Definitely nothing I can't take care of," Link responded boldly as he stood over the defeated Rawbus before it disappeared into smoke.

Mario just looked behind Link and saw Bowser and Ganondorf- they were currently unleashing all their attacks on a purple Cursya. Samus noticed them as well, because in one moment, she was on Carrie and had her cannon held up to Bowser's head.

"Just what do you think you were doing?" she asked in a coldly calm tone. Ganondorf just held his hands up.

"He dragged me into this."

"I'm quite aware."

"Hey! Why am I being threatened to be blasted when I was trying to be helpful for once!" Bowser bellowed.

"Well for starters you refused to listen to me," Samus began. "And have you found anything that could even be slightly helpful?"

"Nope."

"Gee, thanks for the back up, Ganon."

"Anytime."

"Well what are you waiting for? Blast his head off!" cried Link. Mario face palmed.

"That sounded like something Kirby would say," Samus stated, doing the opposite and removing the cannon from Bowser. A wave of breath was exhaled from a relieved Bowser.

"Well either way this place is a dead end, with nothing of value," sighed Ganondorf.

"Maybe a dead end for your team," Link said with a grin. Mario caught on and threw up his hands, taking control. He, Link, and Samus all entered 3D, and gasped upon sight. Where Bowser and Ganondorf had fought the Cursya in 2D, there was several rows of ? Blocks in 2D.

"And they said there wasn't anything of value here," scoffed Link.

"There's also a path over there," found Samus, motioning to her left.

The three of them got to work in hitting all the ? Blocks within their time limit. As expected, most of them contained coins while a few contained items. One even contained a Zombie Shroom, making Link shriek and Samus kill it instantly. Mario received a Coin Flower, while Link found a Speed Flower, which was quickly cancelled out by Samus finding a Slow Flower. Mario also found himself some Pil Pals, which would prove to be helpful.

Once they hit all the blocks, they proceeded down the path Samus had found, making it just before they ran out of time. Samus smirked to herself while Zelda and the villains appeared beside them.

"See Bowser? We should have waited after all," Eggman huffed. Bowser swatted a hand at him.

"Oh, be quiet! I was just thinking for the team!"

"Hey, let me point out the obvious by saying there's the Stonehenge with a fire stone under it!" Ganondorf said. Samus looked past him and broke out into a grin.

"He's right!"

Sure enough, three stones were built to look like slightly like a square house (or an ancient barbeque, as Sonic would put it). A stone of fire was underneath it, just like the Crag-vision had said.

"…well now what?" Link asked.

"The picture I saw had the flame in, well, flames…" Samus recalled. "…maybe we should use fire on it?"

Everyone turned to Bowser.

"Oh I see how it is! Ridicule me for trying to help, then when you do need my help, I'm not so willing to give it!"

"Oh come on! All you have to do is huff your flames at a rock!" Zelda exclaimed.

"Why I oughta- RAWRGH!"

Without warning, Bowser angrily crouched down and spewed his flames, fortunately and unintentionally at the fire rock. When he finally stopped, a stone tablet with a symbol of fire engraved on it popped out of the rock. Mario walked over and picked it up.

"What do you know? You CAN learn something from watching TV!" announced Link.

"Aw man, I didn't want to help!" complained Bowser.

"Which makes no sense because that's what you wanted to do in the first place-"

"Seriously-"

Bowser silenced his evil teammates with a look.

"We'd better head back to Peach and the others…" Samus decided with Mario agreeing instantly.

"Hmm…" Zelda trailed, lifting up her wrist with her watch.

"What'cha doin'?" Link asked.

"Contacting Peach. It'll only be a second…"

**Back in the Volcano-**

"You know we could have used the spring to get out of here awhile ago."

Peach was prepared to respond to the statement, but the watch on her wrist suddenly went off and it interrupted her.

"Ooh! Who is it?" Kirby asked, suddenly getting excited.

"Zelda," Peach replied, hitting the talk button. "What's going on?"

"Nothing really, we just wanted to inform you of the latest things we found!"

"You've got some Intel? Spill," Sonic ordered.

"Okay!" now Link's voice was on the watch. "You know that fire under the Stonehenge we discussed? Well, we found it, and we discovered a Fire Tablet! We have no idea what to do with it, however…"

"We do!" Peach cried. "We're in a volcano right now and-"

"A volcano? ! Peach, get out of there before you're burned alive!"

"It's actually quite cold in here," Kirby pointed out.

"Anyway," Peach continued. "There's these pictures on the wall that are in the order of Rock, Water, Fire, and we think that that's the order we place the objects into the monuments. Now I'm thinking it's got to be the Tablets!"

"If there's a Fire Tablet, you're saying that there's probably a Rock Tablet and a Water Tablet as well?" Eggman asked. Amy nodded.

"Yup, that's what we figured!"

"Where do we look for the next one? C'mon!" shouted Bowser.

"Well, we've hit a dead end on our end," Samus spoke. "But if we're right about the tablets thing, then I think I might have the next clue. We found another Crag-vision, and this time it showed a person running around a dinosaur. We don't know what that means, but if it's a clue to another tablet, we'll have to remember it."

"That's good to know," stated Sonic.

Mario grabbed Zelda's wrist and told them to go through the door toward the right side of the plains. He said that since they hadn't explored there yet, the next tablet could possibly be there.

"Okay, if you say so Mario!" Peach exclaimed.

"We'll head back there soon. Hopefully we'll be there when you get back," Zelda stated. "Over and out, and see you later."

"Bye!" cried Kirby right before the communication ended. "Ah good ol' teamwork…"

"Jeez, this is turning into a search and find mission…" trailed Sonic, stepping on the spring to leave the volcano. The other three followed his lead shortly.

"So we're going through the door that we passed, Sonic," Amy said.

"Right."

They exited the volcano and returned through the pipe, followed by crossing the rest of the plains until they came to the rightmost door. Sonic held it open and said, "After you three."

Peach and Amy smiled and entered while Kirby claimed that Sonic was up to something. The hedgehog just rolled his eyes before following in after them.

. . .

Just beyond the door was a gap in the middle of the land, with a small platform taking them across. On the other side was a third Crag-vision.

"Let's see what this one shows…" Peach said, hurrying over to get a closer look.

"Oh, I don't like the looks of this one…" groaned Sonic. This time, the screen displayed someone going underwater.

"That's obviously where the Water Tablet is located," Kirby stated confidently. "It's just seems like the obvious thing to do."

"Well yeah, I mean, they needed to use fire to get the Fire Tablet!" Amy pointed out.

"So I take it we're looking for the Rock Tablet then…" pondered Sonic.

"Are we looking for a rock then?"

"No, remember the "running around the dinosaur"…"

Amy folded her arms. "C'mon Kirby, do you see a dinosaur romping around?"

"No…"

Amy's point had been proven as they carried on; the image the screen had shown was now burned into Sonic's mind. However, they didn't get very far when they were interrupted by a Scottish accent.

"Showed at last, did ye?"

The four of them exchanged glances- they had never encountered this guy before, but they definitely had heard of him from Mario and Link.

"GRAH-BLAGHY!"

O'Chunks dropped out of the sky, looking as chunky as ever. Everyone struck battle stances…except for Amy who cowered behind Sonic and Peach.

"I've not been made teh wait like this since that fine lass stood me up long, long ago! Yeh did this teh break me concentration, didn't yeh? ! Yeh likes teh cheatin', eh?"

"Dude, how were we supposed to know you were gonna ambush us?" Sonic asked.

"yeah, we can't prevent something from happening when we don't even know it's going to happen," threw in Kirby. O'Chunks furiously stomped his foot.

"Sorry teh disappoint yeh! Yeh think I'd fall fer a bush-league move like that?"

"Ooh, I'm afraid this fellow is terribly misguided…" Tippi mused. Now O'Chunks was throwing an absolute fit.

"Graaaaaa-BARGLE-FARGLE! "Misguided"? That's not even a real word, yeh squishy bug!"

"Yeah, he's missing a few screws," sighed Sonic.

"Or he's a complete screwball," added Kirby.

"Quit yer yappin' now! It's time fer us to settle this once an' fer all!"

He instantly lunged at the ground, Amy diving behind a rock as Peach pulled under her umbrella and Kirby and Sonic rolled out of the way. Sonic, naturally, was fast on his feet, recoiling from the attack attempt and hurling himself at O'Chunks. All O'Chunks had to do was hold out his palm, sending Sonic into an endless spin as he tried to break through. O'Chunks closed his hands at the right moment, and he now had Sonic's legs in his grasp.

"Uh…you wanna let me go?"

O'Chunks grinned devilishly. "Certainly."

Sonic then felt himself being spun around at a breakneck pace, and at this rate, it really _was_ going to break his neck. When O'Chunks let him go at last, Sonic went flying like a blue comet and plowed straight into Peach. While O'Chunks was celebrating his minor victory, Kirby went charging forward like a cannonball. He struck O'Chunks with his Final Cutter, but it did nothing but make a soft clunk noise. He grimaced inwardly as O'Chunks grabbed him next and chucked him over his shoulder. Amy was watching everything from behind the rock, and she couldn't help but cringe.

"Ooh…they're really taking a beating…"

Peach gently pushed Sonic off of her, leaving him to complain of a sick stomach in the dirt. The princess got on her feet and jumped up, gliding until she was just over O'Chunks. She went to jump on his head, but he bounced out of the way and landed right next to Kirby. O'Chunks threw Kirby at Peach, but Peach caught him, luckily.

"Peach…throw me…" Kirby order, huffing. "Like Zelda did when we were fighting Dimentio…"

"Don't we need Thoreau?"

"Since when do people need a Pixl to throw things for themselves? Have the Ancients really gotten THAT lazy?"

"Well, only if you say so," Peach replied, spinning around a bit before releasing Kirby. He whipped out his hammer as he flew toward O'Chunks, ready to make a successful strike. O'Chunks had the upper hand, however. He jumped up, then performed a ground pound at the right moment, squashing Kirby into the ground. Peach took a few steps back, gasping.

"Goodness…"

"Oh, I really want to help…" Amy moaned longingly. "I hate watching like this…"

O'Chunks attempted to perform the same move on Peach, since it briefly put Kirby out of commission. When the brute tried it on her, she crouched under her parasol and took no damage. O'Chunks went tumbling backward from unexpecting the shield, stumbling right into Sonic who gave him a kick in the back of the head. Furious, O'Chunks noticed Peach had emerged from her umbrella protection. He grabbed her gloved arm just as she was preparing to attack, and swung her right at Sonic.

"Augh! Sonic!" Peach yelped. Sonic slightly panicked, not quite sure of what to do.

"I, uh, I've got'cha-"

Peach slammed into Sonic, Sonic awkwardly catching her in his arms as they tumbled to the ground.

"Yer nothing but wee babies wit the way yeh fight!" O'Chunks heckled. Amy was steaming at this point.

"GRRRR! I hate not being able to do anything! SO MUCH!"

"Amy! Go get some help! See if the others are back yet!" Sonic ordered, helping Peach back up as Kirby regained his senses. "We'll try to hold this chunk off!"

"Oh…okay…" Amy sighed, quickly turning heel and bolting for the door. She heard her friends' struggling grunts as she left, and it made her feel slightly guilty.

"But I can't fight without my hammer, darn it! Oh…"

**Back in Front of the Stone Mountain-**

Mario, Link, Samus, Zelda, Bowser, Ganondorf, and Eggman were waiting around idly for the other four to return. Naturally Bowser was getting more impatient by the moment.

"Gwarg! Where ARE they?" he demanded to know. Mario shrugged.

"Hey, maybe the next tablet isn't so easy to obtain," shrugged Samus. "Just give it some time."

"I gave them some time already and I'm getting bored!"

Samus was getting ready to give Bowser a piece of her mind when Amy came running up to them frantically. Seeing the look on her face made everyone concerned instantly.

"Amy, what's going on?" Zelda asked, grabbing her friend's wrists when she approached her.

"Yeah, and where's Peach, Sonic, and Kirby?" questioned Link.

"They're…fighting…O'Chunks…" Amy managed to gasp out. "Failing…badly…can't fight…came to…get help…"

"O'Chunks?" Link nearly spat. "Haven't heard from that tin can in awhile…"

"Isn't that the really crazy Scottish guy Mario and Link told us about?" Ganondorf asked Eggman, who nodded in response. Bowser just punched a fist into his palm.

"Well, looks like we'll have to straighten him out, won't we boys?" Bowser chuckled. "I always wanted to see what this clunker was like!"

"You're going to take care of this Bowser?" Samus asked, appalled.

"Heck yeah! I'll finally be able to beat something up and you won't yell at me!"

"Okay, but if we don't hear from you in a few minutes we're coming after you guys," Zelda pointed out.

"Just hurry, they're getting smacked around like Piñatas in there!" Amy pleaded. Bowser motioned for his team to head out, Mario wishing them luck.

**At the Fight-**

O'Chunks grabbed Kirby again, bowling him into Sonic and knocking him off his feet. The two landed in a heap and groaned loudly.

"He's getting on my nerves…" grunted Kirby.

"Yeah…this guy's a bit tougher than expected…" huffed Peach, still under her umbrella.

"Where's Amy with that backup?" Sonic groaned. As if on cue, Bowser came storming up to them, with Eggman and Ganondorf in tow.

"She got _Team BEG_?" Kirby gawked.

"Hey! O'Fatty!" Bowser bellowed, now arriving at the fight. "You're gonna blow out your beard pal, seriously."

"WHAT! ? "O'Fatty"? ! Why I oughta-"

"Listen, babbling is not gonna save you. You need stomping. And we're stompologists," Bowser continued.

"A stompolo- 'EY! SHUT IT! Don't yeh go tryin' to be wittier than me, yeh frog!"

"Frog? ! I'm not a-"

"Well, he can't help that he is wittier than you," Eggman shot back to O'Chunks, cutting off Bowser.

"YEH MUST PAY!"

"Salutations, O'Chunks!" a new voice entered the conversation, and Peach, Sonic, and Kirby all groaned.

"Good gosh, as if one idiot wasn't enough," mumbled Sonic.

"Can we get on with the fighting already?" Ganondorf roared impatiently.

Bowser saw the one who appeared on the scene in his own magical way, and it was like a switch went off in his head. "Hey! Aren't you…"

"Guess who's crashing the party?" Samus' voice rang out as the rest of the group approached as well.

"We didn't feel like waiting around, so we decided to give some moral support!" Link exclaimed.

"Hey, what's he doing here?" Zelda spat acidly, glaring at the unexpected villain. "Amy said nothing about him being here!"

"That's because he wasn't here when I left…"

"Ah! Once again, we meet, like two angry, burly dinosaurs with terrible indigestion!" the arrival chuckled.

"I still haven't seen a dinosaur…" muttered Kirby from the ground.

O'Chunks shook a fist. "What d'yeh want, Dimentio? ! I don't be needin' any help! Yeh'll just get in the way!"

Dimentio gave a small bow. "Ah, a quadrillion pardons. Far be it from me to be hindrance. Far, FAR be it!"

Eggman shrugged. "Well you're hindering us from giving O'Chunks a smack down, so…"

"As it happens, I merely have an acquaintance in this land. I was just saying hello!"

"Sayin' hello, eh?" murmured O'Chunks. Everyone on the hero side was thinking the same thing, however- who the heck was this "acquaintance"? Dimentio smiled broadly and raised his hands, ignoring the questioning looks on his foes' faces.

"Yes, truly! And I saw you and thought, "Perhaps my magic can aid this fight!" Ah, rest assured, I'll hardly be underfoot! You fight to your heart's content!"

"You and your magic can help by making yourself disappear," Peach dared to say, emerging out of her umbrella. Dimentio disregarded her outburst and instead brought them all to Dimension D. Everyone groaned.

"Didn't this plan fail the last time he tried it?" scowled Link.

Dimentio apparently didn't hear him, for he snapped his fingers and uttered, "Ciao!" before teleporting off. O'Chunks' angry demeanor vanish and was replaced by a slightly jollier one.

"Whuh…that doesn't sound too bad I guess. Maybe I misunderstood that weirdo…"

"You're still misguided," Tippi whispered under her breath.

"Well, anyway, you lot are in fer it now! Meet the new-an'-improved O'Chunks!"

"Yeah right! You're outnumbered!" Eggman shouted.

"And outmatched!" added Bowser as Mario leapt over his head. O'Chunks tried to perform the classic ground pound move, but Mario was familiar with his attack patterns. He promptly rolled out of the way, then chucked Thoreau at O'Chunks while his back was turned. Now holding O'Chunks over his head, Mario threw the villain toward Team BEG. Bowser cracked his knuckles.

"Oh yeah, this is what I'm talking about!"

Ganondorf summoned a wall of fire- O'Chunks started screeching as he passed through the flames. Bowser turned up the heat even more (as told by Link) by burning him with his breath when he landed on the ground. O'Chunks stood up and dusted himself off.

"Well, well! Looks like yeh are a wee more challengin'…" O'Chunks puffed, bounding back into the air. He plotted to come back down on Eggman, but Eggman moved out of the way and Link zipped under instead.

"Link! What are you doing?" Zelda cried.

"This!" Link replied, swiftly bouncing behind O'Chunks and slicing him when he landed. O'Chunks howled in pain, Link allowing Mario to jump on his head to throw Thoreau again. With O'Chunks in his grasp once more, Mario tossed him toward Eggman.

"Oh, I've waited a long time for this!"

He pressed the mech button on his remote control, causing the remote to turn into his battle machine. Now sitting high and mighty in the cockpit, Eggman hit the launch buttons on his steering wheel and send out a dozen missiles. All made designated contact with O'Chunks, and Samus had to admit she was impressed. Meanwhile, Amy and Zelda were making sure Peach, Sonic, and Kirby were alright.

"We're fine," Kirby assured. "We just weren't accustomed to his attack patterns like Mario and Link were."

"Yeah, but now they're so easy to figure out after watching the pros," grunted Sonic, almost itching to get back in the action.

"Team BEG seems to be doing a fine job as well," Peach pointed out. Mario had once again thrown O'Chunks, who had barely had a chance to recuperate from his last suffering, this time aimed at all three of them. Eggman fired lasers in all directions, Ganondorf rapidly struck him with his purple magic-powered fists, and Bowser finished it all off with another blast of fire breath.

"By my big beard…" murmured O'Chunks, now strutting around in a daze. He grabbed the nearest object (which happened to be Amy) and threw it at the nearest target (which happened to be Mario). Mario spotted Amy coming at him like a bullet and caught her quickly with Thoreau.

Mario: Mind if I throw you?

"If I can't have a weapon, then I'd like to be one."

Mari decided it was fair enough and sent Amy spiraling at O'Chunks. She outstretched her fist and struck O'Chunks right in the face, knocking him over. Ganondorf caught him with an uppercut to the back of the head. Eggman then smacked him down with another missile, and Bowser kept it simple by punching him as well. Amy continued to fly until Sonic and Zelda caught her and pulled her out of the air.

"Thanks guys," she replied bubbly.

"I predict that O'Chunks can only take two more hits," Zelda stated out of the blue.

"We can make it go by faster with my power!" Dashell suddenly piped up. "Use me Sonic, please? 'Kay, thanks."

Sonic smirked and summoned Dashell's power until the Pixl turned red and blew steam. "Sure thing! Nothing like speeding things up a little, heh heh."

"Leave the jokes to me," Link sighed, shaking his head. "What an _amateur_…"

"Psh, I wasn't even trying to make a joke!"

Mario and Team BEG suddenly felt themselves become able to go faster, and now O'Chunks' brawny attacks couldn't overcome the swiftness that Dashell had gifted them with. Now even Bowser was moving fast, so their system of Mario throwing and Team BEG laying a beating was even more effective.

"Once more should do it, guys!" Kirby called.

"What do you know? Fighting with Mario is quite effective," Eggman admitted, getting Mario to beam a little. Bowser just folded his arms.

"Yeah, well, I prefer him when we're on opposite sides. Now let's finish this creep off."

Typical Bowser, Mario supposed, as he distracted O'Chunks again. He was quick to dodge him, and even quicker to latch Thoreau to his back and pull him close. Bowser gave the signal that they were ready, and Mario hurled O'Chunks in their direction. Ganondorf sent O'Chunks skyrocketing with a Warlock Kick, followed by Eggman shooting him mercilessly with all the missiles at his disposal. When O'Chunks crashed back to the ground, Bowser used Thudley, turning the tables on O'Chunks and ground pounding _him._

"That'll teach you for not picking on someone your own size!" Bowser declared as Eggman's mech transformed back into the remote. Bowser then started to kick O'Chunks, and the action was quickly repeated by Ganondorf and Eggman.

Mario: *facepalm*

"Jeez, kick him while he's down," scoffed Amy.

"Talk about overkill!" added Samus.

"Ahem, looks who's talking," Link said under his breath.

Team BEG's rapid kicking was halted by O'Chunks suddenly standing up and crying out.

"NOOOOOO!"

Dimension D crumbled from all around them, bring them back to the Gap of Crag as O'Chunks collapsed to one knee.

"Blargh it all! Bad enough that yeh beat me once, twice is too much to bear!" he panted.

"I guess you can say they made quick work of you!" snickered Link as Sonic removed Dashell's power.

"How can I show me face to the count now, eh? I CAN'T! Put me out o' me misery!"

"Gwar har har…good idea!" cheered Bowser.

"Bowser!"

"What?"

"Get on with it! I'm serious! I've no regrets! Well…no…perhaps I do regret not confessin' me love to that sweet lass…BUT NO! that's no way for a brave warrior to talk when 'is time comes 'round at last! So…do it! Now! NOW! Finish me! End me game!"

"You're not really going to kill him, are you?" gaped Peach. Bowser shrugged.

"Well, he's literally asking for it…"

"Well, salutations, O'Chunks! How are things, hmmm?" Dimentio asked as he arrived on the scene, just as Bowser was about to stomp on O'Chunks. O'Chunks stood right back up and glared at his fellow minion.

"Di-Dimentio! Look, honestly, this is kind o' important! How 'bout some privacy, eh?"

"Yes, yes, of course, I understand. Your honor must be satisfied…But, O'Chunks, before you let your game be over, humor poor little me for a bit. I have something I rather think you'll enjoy. I DO wish you would try it out for me."

O'Chunks threw his fists into the air and shook them rapidly. "YEH CRAZED LOON! It's not the time fer…"

"Oh, it's not time, hm? Not the time for something that will aid Count Bleck?"

O'Chunks looked thoughtful. "Ooh…fer the count, eh? Well, that do change a thing or two…Hmm…fine then." he turned to Bowser and the rest of the crew. "You lot! Yeh took enough of a beatin' fer today, so Ill let yeh off easy-like! I tell yeh this, though: yeh better work on yer skills by the next time we meet!"

"Why would we need to work on them?" Ganondorf asked. "They're apparently good enough already!"

"What gall!" Amy huffed, glaring at O'Chunks.

"Wait, what about all that drivel about not showing your face to the count and such?" Tippi asked.

"'EY! SHUT IT! I live fer the count! I couldn't end me game without 'is say-so! My heart is weak, sure, so I'm done with it! From now on, I'm all brawn, no brain!"

"…that makes no sense!" "What an idiot!" "Wasn't he all brawn, no brain to start with?"

"The past be nothin' to me! All that matters is Count Bleck's future! All fer 'im! Chunks away!"

"Ah, it IS time to part…Ciao!"

The evil generic villains teleported off, leaving the heroes in a bit of a daze.

"Well that was interesting," stated Sonic.

"Man! What a crybaby…" snorted Bowser.

"So…eh…now what?"

"We were still looking for the dinosaur," Kirby pouted. "But Amy downed my enthusiasm by implying that we're not going to find it!"

"I never said-"

"You implied it!"

"In other words," Peach interrupted. "We were looking for the Rock Tablet."

"Well there's nothing here but that stone column just over there," Ganondorf pointed out. Everyone turned around to see what he was talking about, and sure enough, there was a column of rock.

"It's still not a dinosaur," huffed Kirby.

"Something still feels suspicious about it…" trailed Peach.

"Maybe we can chisel it into a statue of me!" Link suggested.

"For some reason I feel that that wouldn't help us…" Tippi responded.

"It was just a suggestion!"

Mario was just as suspicious of the column as Peach was, so he ventured into 3D to see what it looked like there. Link, Sonic, Kirby, and Samus followed him promptly, and the five of them discovered the dinosaur.

"HA! Take that, Amy Rose!" Kirby laughed.

"She can't hear you, you know," Sonic said.

"Okay, so we're supposed to walk around it…" Samus recalled, getting back on track. Mario started to circle the dinosaur statue (which he thought slightly resembled a Yoshi), with Link, Sonic, and Kirby trotting after him in a parade-like fashion. When they came around full circle, the Stone Tablet appeared and landed on the dinosaur's nose. Samus jumped up, snagged it, and returned them to 2D.

"That was fun!" cheered Kirby. He then smirked at Amy. "And guess what? We found the dinosaur!"

"And the Stone Tablet," Link added, pointing to Samus waving it around.

**Back in the Previous Area-**

"Alright, so we have the Tablets of Fire and Rock…so we only need the one of Water now," Samus deduced.

"Where are we supposed to look for it though?"

"Oh yeah! We saw a Crag-vision that told us to go underwater somewhere…" Amy trailed.

"Which makes sense because that's so obvious," stated Link. "They think we can't handle mixing it up a little or something…"

"But the only place where there was water was in the previous area…" Zelda pointed out. Bowser, Eggman, and Ganondorf exchanged devious looks.

"We'll take care of this…" they said simultaneously.

"I dunno, something seems kinda untrustworthy…" Kirby pondered.

The trio, still grinning, grabbed Sonic by the arms and bolted through the door they had originally entered from.

**Moments Later-**

"Okay, this is so unfair on so many levels!" Sonic wailed, being dragged closer to the watery doom.

"Like I said, it's not even that deep," jeered Ganondorf.

"Besides, it's not like you can't breathe underwater in these dimensions," Eggman sighed. "Meaning you'll probably be fine."

"But seeing you squirm is too good to resist!" cackled Bowser, grabbing Sonic's ankles.

"N-No, please! Have mercy!"

Eggman grabbed his right arm, Ganondorf grabbed his left, and the three of them started to swing Sonic.

"One…"

"Stop! STOP!"

"Two…"

"Please! I'm begging ya!"

"THREE!"

"YAAAAA_AAAH_!"

The villains let go of Sonic, sending him flying straight down into the water and just missing hitting his head on the small yellow platform. Just as Sonic started to become submerged by the frightening liquid, the rest of the group burst through the door a few precious moments too late.

"Where's Sonic?" Amy demanded to know.

"In the water," Eggman answered casually.

"We decided to teach him to swim," added Ganondorf.

"You should've seen the look on his face!" Bowser chortled, causing everyone to tackle him into the water as well. Unlike Sonic, he accidentally thwacked his head against the platform and was briefly knocked out.

"…okay, that could've gone better," Link said.

"Where's Sonic? SONIC!"

"Amy, you really need to work on that cry."

"I'm actually alive guys!" Sonic cheered, standing at the bottom of the small river. "…but didja really need to bring everyone?"

"It was an accident," huffed Samus. "At least we can get you out of here ourselves since you can't swim-"

"Sh-shut up!"

Sonic angrily kicked open the chest resting at the bottom, Mario pulling the Water Tablet out of it. Peach clasped her hands together excitedly.

"Finally! Now we have the three Tablets! Rock, Water, and Fire!"

"Man, I sort of forgot that we're supposed to be getting past that large yellow block," Kirby admitted.

"And I forgot that my hammer's broken!" sobbed Amy. "Try to be strong…try to be strong…"

"Either way, can we please get out of here?" Samus groaned.

"We've got Bowser this time…" sighed Link, picking him up with help from Mario.

"Someone tell me how there can possibly be a space with air right underneath water?" Zelda demanded. "It's just not possible! They've taken defying logic to a whole new level!"

**Platform with Three Monuments-**

"Bowser really needs to stop knocking himself out," Eggman deduced, watching Bowser sleep to the side as everyone else gathered around the monuments.

"Again, Rock in the first one…" Peach recited, Mario placing the Stone Tablet in said monument.

"Then Water…" added Kirby, Mario doing so.

"And Fire!" Amy cheered, Mario placing the last one in the final slot.

"You have to wonder just how this is going to help us…" Samus mused.

"Maybe we'll end up cragging right through that block!" laughing Link, receiving weird looks instead of the anticipated laughter. Right as he was about to complain, the ground beneath them started to shake.

"What…Wha-What?" stammered Tippi.

After a few moments, the rumbling stopped, and it appeared that nothing happened…until another Pixilated voice called out.

"HEY! YO!"

Everyone nearly jumped at the new voice, quickly turned around to see a hammer-like Pixl appeared out of a bright light. He floated up to the ground and tilted his head when he got no response.

"Whuh? I'm gettin nothin…So…you ignorin' me? Or was that a "yes"? Better try one more time…PLEASE TALK TO ME!"

Mario: Fine!

"Nice! Sounds good. Been awhile since I heard voices. Been awhile since I talked. Gotta tell people how ya feel or they dunno…Gotta talk or no one hears ya!"

"Hooray! New Pixl!" cheered Thoreau.

"So listen, weird question…you got a motto or what? Whisper it to me, huh? What's your favorite word?"

"Superfluous." "Fantaberistic." "Sponge." "Jelly Ultraz." "Soup." "Pudding." "Anticipation." "Revenge!" "That's Shadow's favorite." "Oh."

Amy just suddenly burst out with, "AWESOME!", and that was apparently the word the Pixl decided to go with. Kirby complained that he should've picked "Soup" instead.

"Oh yeah…That's perfect! I am LOVIN' that! Read good wordin', real good timin'! It really got me right there! In the heart! And on that note, hang on a quick sec…"

The Pixl flew down, then rocketed high over their heads and shouted "AWESOME!" to the sky.

"I wanna try!" wailed Kirby. "SOUP!"

"PUDDING!" shouted Sonic.

"SPONGE!" "JELLY ULTRAZ!" "ANTICIPATION!" "REVENGE! Grah ha ha ha!"

"So yeah, that's your motto?" the Pixl asked upon returning. "Words you live by, right? Right on! Good stuff! Feels like I really know you now…What really drives you…Gotta say, it's inspirin'! Haven't felt like this in awhile…Feels kinda like when I first became a Pixl! I gotta get on board this good-feelin' train! I'm stickin' with you!"

Since Amy, Zelda, and Ganondorf were currently the only ones that were Pixlless, the new Pixl chose Amy and spun around her, leaving behind a trail of sparkles.

"Yeah! Feelin' good! Yeah! I got a ton of pent-up energy, lemme tell you!" he then took a small bow. "Name's Cudge! And before ya ask what I can do, lemme just say I'm a real hit!"

"By your shape and name I take it you're a cudgel-like Pixl?" Zelda asked. Amy, and everyone else, blinked.

"What's a cudgel?"

"Basically a hammer."

"REALLY! ?"

Cudge nodded. "Sure am! Give me a try! Just swing like you would as if you had a hammer, and I'll do the rest!"

Amy though the description was a bit odd, but she gave it a try anyway. She readied her arm like she had her old hammer, then swung. As if by magic, a hammer materialized in Amy's hand and slammed into the ground. Her eyes started to sparkle.

"Cudge, you're my new best friend."

Cudge beamed. "Happy to help! I can break through a ton of stuff as well! See a cube? Swing me! See a yellow block? It'll be nothing in no-time flat!"

"We can _finally_ get past that yellow block," Eggman sighed in relief.

"Heck yeah, let's go!" cheered Link, jumping off the side of the platform. Amy looked at Cudge and asked another question.

"Hey Cudge, can I use your hammer to help me glide like with my old one?"

"You can try!"

"Okay…"

Amy started over the edge of the platform, then swung her arm again. Cudge's power brought the magical hammer to life again, but while it was in her hand, Amy brought it over her head and started to twirl it. Just like before, she was gliding.

**_"Awesome!"_**

The rest of the group had beaten Amy to the ground, but Amy had the most important job at the moment. Right as she was above the yellow block, she stopped twirling the hammer and brought it slightly behind her. She then swung it right into the yellow block, shattering it into pieces and revealing the pipe the Floro Sapiens escaped through. When she landed on the ground, the group broke out into cheers.

"Way to go Amy!"

Amy just shrugged. "We really should be thanking Cudge…"

Mario gave Amy a thumbs up anyway before jumping down the pipe. Everyone congratulated Amy a bit more before following after.

. . .

"This is where they escaped to?" Peach questioned upon seeing an underground cavern with jewels wedged into its walls.

"You do have to wonder why flowers have their base of operations underground," Zelda pondered.

"I found a Stone Buzzy card!" Kirby announced, emerging out of a hidden wall on the other side of the room. "Good thing I decided to check out this room in 3D!"

As Kirby showed off the card, Mario saw the Star Block smack dab in the middle of the room. Seeing that everyone watching was itching to continue, Mario hit it, marking another leg of their adventure as complete.

. . .

After repelling O'Chunks, Mario and Co. followed the Floro Sapiens underground…Was the hideout of the Floro Sapiens just up head?

"Wow! It's dark! And narrow!" "Hey, who just kicked me? !" "Sorry. All me."

Our heroes followed the long, dark corridor, listening to the echoes of their own voices. As they groped their way along, the light at the end of the tunnel grew brighter…They had finally arrived at the inner sanctums of the Floro Sapiens…The Cragnons kidnapped from Downtown of Crag had to be around somewhere…


	34. A Crag in the Dark

Super Paper Mario X

Chapter 33: A Crag in the Dark

After exploring around in the dark for so long, the group was definitely pleased to find a place that had some light to it. Zelda still wondered why flowers preferred to be underground, but no one could really answer that. The only thing they could do was keep marching forward. Right after Link claimed a Super Shroom for everyone, Mario found…well, what could only be described as a wannabe adventurer.

"Coming to you live…from the foul darkness that the Floro Sapiens call home. Lesser Cragnons would weep softly. No one has set foot in this cave and emerged alive. But some make history with sheer gall and willpower…and Flint is such a man!"

"This guy is like a Flavio all over again, I can already tell."

"CRAGLEY HO! Into the Floro Sapiens Cave of Doom! A Flint Cragley Cragtrotting Adventure!…no, wait a second, that'll never play well with the sticks. How about…"

The man continued to recite to himself as the group dared to approach him.

"CRAGLEY HO! Taste Danger! Flint Cragley Vs. a Recragginated Mummy in Floro Sapiens Central! …I wonder if that will test well with the weekend audience…Those Cragnons are fickle…"

"Hey! Helmet head!" Bowser roared. Flint Cragley whirled around and bellowed out his catchphrase upon sight of the unexpected visitors.

"CRAGLEY HO! Suddenly…out of the cave mists…mysterious, slavering creatures lurched into view! Did they hope to dine on fillet of Cragley? Would our hero meet their mandibles? Tune in after this brief commercial break to witness the torrid conclusion!"

"Look, we've seen a lot of tasty things in our day, and you are not one of them," Sonic stated.

"…great, cut, print, wrap it. Now what do you dolts want? What are you doing here?"

"What are you doing here, ya fruitcake? !" Kirby demanded to know.

Amy raised an eyebrow. "Fruitcake?"

"It fit at the time. Just roll with it."

Mario: We're looking for a Pure Heart.

Flint Cragley's outlook on them quickly changed. "Spectacular. Just fabulous! All-time coincidence, that's what this is! Just great to meet fellow adventurers, really, it is. I'm ecstatic about this. Listen, call me Flint. I'm a heck of a guy to know! Best cragtrotter of our time!"

"You can trot crag?"

"You may know me from "Flint Cragley, Cragtrotter", which airs weekly on Crag-vision."

"Yeah, we don't get that channel where we're from."

"That's why I pretended to be kidnapped! I'm filming another epic show! Unfortunately, my idiot crew wandered off somewhere…so unprofessional. I turned away for one second, and they vanished into the foul blackness of this cave… The worst part is, they have the key that'll get me deeper into this infernal abyss!"

He then pointed at Mario.

"You there! If you run into my crew, tell them I'm waiting and stomping impatiently! Pure adventure personified thanks you kindly!"

"Pffft, if we remember…but no promises!" Bowser snorted. Flint gestured to the green pipe, being the only way to get deeper into the caverns. Mario was the first one in, like he usually was, with everyone on his tail.

. ..

"Well…if they have the key that'll get them farther in this cave, then I guess we'll need to find them to get farther too," Zelda stated, holding the lock on a door in the lower areas of the cavern.

"Ugh, more searching and finding…" complained Ganondorf.

"And we barely have any knowledge on the Pure Heart," added Eggman.

"Besides the fact that a plant king has it," threw in Samus.

Mario sighed to himself and trudged onward. He was already seeing that this stretch was going to be a long one. Small murmurs moved among the crowd, but no one really had anything concrete to say. Samus took out spiked Buzzy Beetles that fell from the top of the cave while Sonic discovered yet another pipe that led even deeper into the caves.

. . .

"Please tell me we'll actually get to do something in this part," pleaded Link. "Watching Samus blast as tiny turtles isn't all that entertaining."

"Who else was going to kill them?"

"Let's just focus on getting out of here alive and finding the crewpeople…" Zelda decided, walking by them and continuing on. Samus smirked while Link held his breath.

Mario hit a block and obtained some more Pil Pals, one of which that attacked an oncoming Buzzy. Sonic raced up blocks on stair formation and jumped onto a row of blocks, while Amy tried and ended up getting trapped with a Spania. It instantly saw her, and aimed its two long spikes as it vanished in a blur of orange.

"Augh, NO!"

Before she knew it, she had slammed Cudge's hammer down on the Spania right before it hit her. Blinking, she grinned, and noticed Mario reaching his hand down to help her out. She took it and he pulled her up.

"Thanks Mario!

Mario: Anytime.

"There's more where that came from," stated Bowser as Ganondorf raised his arms and created a wall of fire. It did nothing to the Buzzy Beetles in their path, but any other Spanias in the way were demolished. Eggman took care of the Beetles with well-placed shooting by his laser gun.

"Look at the ton of ? Blocks!" Kirby cried as he killed a Piranha emerging out of a pipe.

"I've seen more," Link scoffed as he hit each and every one of them. All of them were coins, except for one which was a Mushroom. Up ahead, Peach and Zelda were getting ready to float over a pipe with a Putrid Piranha over it, but Eggman had accidentally zapped the block that was going to help them reach the upper area.

"And so he strikes again," murmured Peach.

"Peach, give me a boost and I'll get rid of it!" Zelda ordered.

"All right…"

Peach cupped her hands together, helping get Zelda some air to jump over the Putrid Piranha. She summoned Nayru's Love as it tried to poison her, then when it stopped, Zelda fought back with Din's Fire. It died in flames, giving everyone access to jump over the pipe without worry.

"Okay, there's a door here, but more cavern up ahead…" Samus trailed.

"I say through the door- we can always come back," Zelda replied.

"Yeah, she said what I was going to say," added Sonic.

Mario: Through the door it is!

"Aw, what if I don't wanna go through the door?" whined Bowser.

Mario: Too bad! *shove*

"HEY!"

Mario grinned sheepishly and motioned for everyone to follow Bowser. When they did, they found something they weren't exactly expecting…

"Oh my gosh…it's a rollercoaster!" cheered Sonic.

"It's a mine cart you idiot!" Samus snapped back.

"I think it's a minercoaster," Kirby said bluntly.

"Or a rollercarter," suggested Link.

"Whatever it is," Amy butted in. "I think we're gonna have to ride in it."

"Shotgun!" shouted Bowser, forgetting his previous complaints and jumping in.

"Hey you can't do that!" shouted Peach.

"Yeah, there's won't be enough room for anyone else," snickered Zelda.

Mario burst into laughter while Bowser attempted to make room to prove Zelda wrong. Samus, however, had other plans…

"Move," she ordered, just about flipping Bowser out of the cart.

"I say we take control and ride in it," Link announced.

"no, we should! We have less people!" Amy disagreed.

"And we'll have more room," Zelda snickered again.

"I call shotgun then!" Sonic shouted, bounding into the cart with Link and Kirby jumping in after. Samus sat in the back with Kirby while Mario jumped in the middle. As soon as he was in, the cart started to move.

"All right! Woo!" cried Sonic and Link, slapping a high five.

"This is _not_ a-"

Kirby threw up his arms. "Hands up! WOOT!"

The only thing about Kirby throwing up his arms (along with Sonic, Link, and eventually Mario) was that it flipped them into 3D, which increased the roller coasting experience.

"Yeah! Not _just_ a ride…but a ride in **_3D_**!" Link cried.

Samus rolled her eyes. "Oh brother…"

"Hey…there's a hole in the wall! And a fork in the road! And we're…going to the left?"

Everyone looked out the left side of the cart to what Kirby was talking about, and truth be told, the cart veered into the secret section of the cave. The five of them exchanged glances.

"Erm, what that supposed to happen?" Sonic asked.

Mario: *shrugs*

"AAAAH! GIANT ROCK ON THE TRACK!" shouted Link as he frantically pointed forward. They all started to scream and hold each other for dear life, but it was as if the cart had a mind of its own. Right before they collided with the stalactite, the cart dipped to the right and dodged the rock. Everyone blinked.

"…well that was lucky."

Their cart avoided two more obstacles before hitting the end of the track, inertia causing the group to fly out, hit the nearest wall, and fall into a pile.

"We really have a piling problem, don't we?" groaned Kirby.

Mario: Uh-huh.

"Off," Samus ordered, shoving her teammates off of her as they removed control. Teams ZAP and BEG appeared at their side.

"So how'd it go?" Peach asked.

"Let's just say it rocked," Link groaned. "We could also say we got a little off track-"

"Oh please stop now," pleaded Samus. She then noticed a wooden door to their right and started to open it. "Looks like we found a good place to explore…"

"Speaking of exploration…" Eggman began.

"Bowser got bored and started to run on the track after you guys," Ganondorf moaned.

"Hey, it was a good workout! And besides, I found something of interest!"

"What did you find this time Bowser?" Kirby questioned.

"Well, after you guys disappeared into the wall, I kept going straight forward, and I found a pipe at the other end!"

"After tripping over the end of the track."

"Hush. So when I entered the pipe…I found a bunch of those Cragnon things…and they have little plants growing out of their heads and they were all zombified and I couldn't even kill them when they attacked me!"

"Zombified Cragnons?" Sonic gaped.

"WITH PLANTS! ?" gasped Kirby. "The horror!"

"That must be what the Floro Sapiens are doing to them," Zelda explained.

"The only question is why…" Tippi trailed. "We have to get to the bottom of this."

"Well duh! That's why were entering this conveniently placed door."

**Through the Conveniently Placed Door-**

As soon as they entered, a sunflower chucked its head at them, Samus blasting it out of the air with a charge beam.

"Great. These guys are infesting this area…"

"Oh come on I bet it's not that- AUGH!"

"…Oh Link…" sighed Zelda, after Link had stepped over the edge.

"Are you alright?" Peach called down.

"No worries! Not like this is the first time or anything- OH JEEZ! ZOMBIE SHROOM! THEY'RE EVERYWHERE!"

Moments later, a ladder suddenly appeared at the edge of the cliff, and the rest of the group climbed down to where Link was. He was currently slashing at the Zombie Shrooms with the occasional shout of "Die!" Once he took care of that, Mario surveyed the new surroundings. The cavern basically went in a downward direction, but Mario noticed there was a ledge toward the top that none of them could reach. But for now, he chose the low way…

…and nearly got pelted with the heads of yellow and red Floro Sapiens. Kirby jumped in front of him and battered them off with Barry, but just up ahead were mind-controlled Cragnons like Bowser had talked about.

"Remember, don't hurt them…" Peach warned.

"It's a dead end down here anyway; let's turn around," grunted Samus. Peach glanced at the ground, then looked at Mario, who was staring upwards, thinking about the upper path.

"No…it's not…"

"Peach…?"

The princess hurried back to the start of the room, jumping toward the ladder and gripping the first rung. Everyone followed Peach in a hurry just to keep up with her. When she reached top of the ladder, she leapt off of it, pulled out her parasol, and glided over the room. Mario grinned- so_ that's_ how you got over there.

"Wait for us!" Zelda and Amy called back, gliding after their leader. When the female trio landed in the upper area, Peach removed control, and everyone else saw that there was more to the room.

"huh, I was wrong…" Samus trailed.

"Wouldn't be the first time!" snorted Sonic, who was quickly met with a cannon to the face. "You really need a new way to threaten people…"

"Why? This method works just fine!"

"…so?"

Mario defeated a Floro Sapient, obtained a coin from a ? block, and jumped off the rightmost ledge into a slightly lower area. Right in front of the group stood the sound guy.

"Whoa! Where in crag did you guys come from? …Serious. Who are you, brah?"

"You part of that idiot's crew? Get back and report to your boss, you lazy worm!"

"Way to be upfront about it, Bowser."

"Whuh? You know where director is? !" Mario nodded told him and filled him in on Flint's location. "Oh, that where he is…Thanks. Hornfels head back now. But first…you see other crew Cragnons? With little sprout on top of head?"

"Uh…yeah. They were trying to kill us."

"Floro Sapiens using sprouts to mind-control Cragnons…"

"Called it," Zelda stated proudly.

"They see you, they attack! Don't let you guard down, brah! Crag you later!"

With that, Hornfels started running back to Flint and leaving the gang to find the other crew member.

**Back in the Area that Came Before the Cart Room *pant pant*-**

"Do we go to the right now?" Kirby asked, killing a Piranha residing in a pipe outside of the first door (second if you count the one they had originally entered from.)

"Of course! Who knows what else is over there!" Sonic exclaimed, bounding over the pipe, landing on the other side of a small gap, and kicking around an onslaught of Buzzies. Well, Mario wasn't going to argue with that. The other member of the crew was probably up ahead. He spun into 3D since a ton of pipes were in his way while Team ZAP glided over them all and Team BEG awaited to pop up next to them.

"Ooh! Giant rock!" Link exclaimed, jumping in front of one.

"It looks awfully suspicious…" Samus pondered, looking it over. "Yeah, it's covering up a door!"

"Oh no! What if the other crew guy is stuck behind there? !" Amy gasped.

"Then we'll have to come to his rescue!" Link announced, dropping his bomb companion in front of the rock. He snapped his fingers, and with a mighty explosion, the rock burst into several pieces. Amy nearly kicked the door open, and Link and Samus piled in after.

"Hooray! Coins!"

"Psh,_ coins_?" Link scoffed. "Man, I thought there'd be something of interest in there!"

"Coins_ are_ interesting," Amy defended as Samus gathered up the money. "One day, coins will have your back!"

"Hey, Rupees are all I need, Amy."

"If you say so…" Amy shrugged, exiting out of the room. Samus grabbed Link's arm and started to drag him out the door back to the rest of the group.

"What do you think you're doing? I have the ability to walk you know!"

**Meanwhile-**

While Amy, Samus, and Link went to explore the hidden room, the rest of the group continued to press onward. Sonic ran over everyone, hopping on blocks that no one else could reach. Eggman fired at the enemies lingering about while Mario, Peach, and Zelda collected anything and hit the ? Blocks along the path.

"How come I always have to kill the Piranhas?" Kirby whined, smacking into another one with his hammer.

"Because you're the best at it," Peach assured.

"Hey, I got rid of that one back in the Bitlands, remember?" Sonic pointed out, jumping down next to them.

"You poisoned it to death!"

"It was a very efficient defeat."

As they discussed that, Bowser and Ganondorf were taking on a group of Spanias.

"Where did Amy go? She's always going on about how she wants to be the one to kill things off," huffed Ganondorf as he burned one of the monsters.

"Yeah, then we could just kick back and not do anything," Bowser agreed, scorching another.

"And if you didn't do anything, you'd have us to answer to," Zelda threw in while walking past them.

"Stop eavesdropping on us!"

"I can't help that I just so happened to be passing by-"

"Oh, whatever!"

Zelda, Bowser, and Ganondorf started up another argument, but Mario ended up just letting that one go since he knew Zelda would emerge victorious. He found a spring in front of a large wall, and it was obvious what he had to do. It was sort of like back in Lineland! Mario hopped on the spring, crouched down, then shot himself upwards. He flipped over the wall with style, and once everyone saw him do that, they were quick to hop on the spring as well.

"I dunno, I'm still not very good with springs…" Link said, once he, Samus, and Amy caught up. He cautiously put his foot on the spring…only to be body slammed by Bowser and Ganondorf, causing the three of them to go flying upwards into the roof of the cave.

"That was _so_ unnecessary!" Link scowled, now aching everywhere.

"You were taking too long." "Hey, this is sort of fun!"

"You think a lot of random things are fun, Bowser," sighed Eggman. When the three of them came back down to the ground with a large boom, the rest of the group turned around, and realized they had hit a dead end…

…with the exception on the yellow block sitting in the middle of the floor. Amy twirled Cudge's hammer between her fingers.

"I've got this one guys!"

Kirby looked worriedly at his own hammer. "…I'm too scared to even attempt to hit the yellow block…"

Amy gave a hearty swing, everyone ducking when the broken pieces of the block went flying everywhere. The block being gone revealed another wooden door, so Mario grabbed the handles and pulled it open.

. . .

"Hey, look. Another mine cart."

"Can we go in it this time, please?" begged Peach, Zelda, and Amy.

"But what if there's a place where we need to go into 3D?" Kirby asked. "Just think of all the redoing we'd have to do!"

"Besides, what if I wanna ride in it?" Sonic and Link dared to ask at the same time.

Peach, Zelda, Amy: Too bad! *jump in*

"H-hey-" "We were just kidding!"

The three girls turned to Mario, who simply shrugged and told them to go on ahead. He didn't think there'd be any need for 3D, to be honest.

"Thanks Mario!" Team ZAP exclaimed before shoving off. Bowser angrily stomped his foot.

"I wanna ride in the next one."

"I don't think there will be a next one," Ganondorf said bluntly.

"Who asked you, Mr. Dark Rain Cloud?"

"Besides that, the odds of us all fitting into one cramped space like that are extremely low," Eggman pointed out.

"That's because Bowser's huge, you're fat, and I'm studly," Ganondorf explained. He and Eggman started shouting at each other afterwards while Bowser planted his face into his palm. Team Mario just shook their heads.

Meanwhile, Peach, Zelda, and Amy were enjoying the carting experience. If anything, their cart ride was better than Team Mario's! It had loop-de-loops, steep slopes, broken tracks (which made Link flinch several times), and several hills. The girls had so much fun they nearly forgot to remove control.

"Sheesh, we could hear you cheering all the way from over there!"

"Well, it was fun," was all Amy had to say about it.

"It's over now though," Samus stated, throwing the next door open and marching inside.

. . .

It was another room similar to the one that Hornfels was in, but not quite the same. Mario felt that if the other crew guy wasn't in here, then who knew where he would be. He jumped down to the bottom of the room, where he hit another ? Block. A Zombie Shroom jumped out and started running around, disappearing into a crowd of Floro Sapiens and brainwashed Cragnons. When Link chased it down to kill it, he flipped into 3D and found a hidden room on the far side of the area. Running over, Link located a single Spania card, which would make killing the annoying creatures a heck of a lot easier.

"Link! Where are you; we need Boomer!" he heard Peach call.

"Coming! Eh…where are you?"

"Up here, Link!" Zelda cried. Link looked up- the rest of the gang was on top of a row of blocks toward the top of the room. Amy was frantically hitting against a wall that was in their way, but it looked like it was going to take some explosive power to get by. Link sent Boomer up to the gang while he started to climb after. Ganondorf ended up grabbing Boomer and throwing him against the wall. It burst upon contact, clearing the way for the crew.

"Here's your Pixl back," Ganondorf huffed, tossing Boomer over his shoulder and into Link's palms. Boomer landed with a grunt, making Link glare back at his arch foe.

"Just be a little less careless next time…" he murmured under his breath as he released Boomer back into the air.

"What's his deal, sss-BANG?"

"I've been wondering that for years."

When Link returned to the rest of the group, he was just in time to meet the other crew member, who happened to be the camera guy.

"Hey. You not mind controlled? You escape from "Processing Center", brah?" he asked, looking surprised.

Mario: *is just as surprised as camera guy is*

"Processing Center?" Sonic questioned. "What Processing Center?"

"Monzo maybe ought to take director there. Maybe sprout on head mellow him out…"

"You're Cragley's other minion, right? The guy wants you back there, on the DOUBLE!" Bowser shouted.

"I really don't think Flint refers to them as 'minions", but okay…" Peach sighed, shaking her head.

"I wanna know more about this Processing Center," grumbled Sonic.

Samus nodded in agreement. "Me too…"

"Hey, you guys actually agree on something!" cried Link. Samus narrowed her eyes.

"You act like it's the first time or something…"

"Well, it's certainly very rare!" Kirby added to be helpful.

Monzo paid no attention to Peach or Team Mario and solely focused on Bowser, gaping. "Whuh? You know director? So that where he was…aww…he told Monzo "Wait here!" But Monzo bet he forgot one second later. Job of Monzo really lame. Thanks, brah. Monzo head back now."

"What about the Processing Center! ?" wailed Sonic, falling to his knees. "Don't you think that's sort of an important aspect to SHARE! ?"

"Easy there, Fido, it's not like we won't see him again," said Samus.

"Yeah…they have the key to get us out of here…" Zelda recalled.

"Uh oh…" Link breathed, coming to a terrible realization. "You know what that means?"

"One…"

"Two…"

"Three-"

"BACKTRACKING!"

**Back at Flint Cragley-**

"Luckily we have the ability to bypass backtracking, huh?" Link said cheerfully while Mario groaned. The moment the group had returned, Flint had started up on a monologue.

"In a miraculous turn of events, I was reunited with my faithful camera Cragnons. But there was no time for celebration! We had to swoop to the aid of the kidnapped! With danger nibbling our heels, we ventured deeper into the forbidding cave…To do so, we used the key to the last unopened door in the forsaken labyrinth!"

"Beautiful. Can we have the key now?" Bowser asked. Flint nodded and turned to Hornfels.

"So, um…you DO have the key, right? Lemme grab that."

"Whuzzat? ! You cragging me? You never gave key…"

"Oh. Hm. Really?" he shifted his gaze to Monzo, who jumped in place.

"Whuh? What? Key?"

"Yes, genius, a key. Wait…don't tell me you don't have it either!"

"Uh, yah, brah, had key, but…"

"Ah, yes, so you DO have it! Good show, good show, yes. Give it here. Quickly now."

"No brah…HAD key but not HAVE key…"

"You…you LOST it? !" Flint swapped into monologue. "A tragic crew blunder ruins Cragley! Had the gods of adventure forsaken us? !"

Monzo was appalled. "Nah brah! See…Cragley say, "You lose this, so Cragley hold onto it." Cragley got key, brah…"

Upon seeing the death glares being forced upon him by the gang, Flint started to panic slightly. "Preposterous! If such a claim were true, there would be evident in my pocket, which there ISN'T."

Flint even shoved his hands into his pockets to prove his point…until his fingers brushed against something. Eyes shrinking, he whipped out the key and held it over his head.

At the same time, the group tackled Ganondorf to the ground.

"Let me at that no good son of a sausage! LET ME GO SO I CAN TEAR HIM LIMB FROM LIMB!"

"'Kay, I wanna roast him to a third degree burn as much as the next guy, but have some sense about this," Bowser replied calmly.

"CRAGLEY HO! A miracle struck! As if by magic, the long-lost key returned to my pocket! The cave defied Cragnon comprehension! It was a place of purest miracles!"

"After seeing that, Flint seems more like a Kolorado to me."

"Dude, he still reeks of Flavio-like instinct."

"What if he's some freaky combination of the two? !" winced Kirby. "Brr…"

"Lucky turn of events, finding that key…I'm sure everyone contributed somehow."

"Cragley spaced, huh?" Hornfels whispered to Monzo.

"Yah, totally. Right in pocket."

"Figures, brah. What a crag."

"Yah, serious. Big surprise."

"Now, onward! We must make our way to the last unopened door to the horrid depths…If my research is correct, and it always is, then this key should open that door. Of course, through the door may lie a trap that will devour us all…Ho ho HO!"

"He laughs like you," Ganondorf said to Eggman once he had calmed down a few degrees. Eggman wasn't even going to bother responding to that one.

"C'mon! Let's just open the door already!" Amy sighed impatiently. Flint instantly rushed over to her and stared her down.

"What's that? You say you want to open the door no matter what may lie in wait? Tremendous! Such bravery!"

Mario: Wait, what-?

"I was planning on opening the door myself, but since you seem so passionate…not that I'm afraid or anything. Don't be ridiculous. I mean, that's laughable. As a felloe cragtrotter, I know the heady thrill of the hunt! I'll yield to your lead!"

"What hunt! ?"

Flint tossed Mario the key, Mario lifting up a hand and claiming it for his own in a swift move.

"We'll head down first and await you by the door. Come down when you're ready. See you in two ticks!"

Flint, Hornfels, and Monzo jumped down the pipe and were on their way. Mario stared at the key, making a face at Flint's previous reactions, then followed them down the pipe.

"I'd just like to know what any of this has to do with a hunt."

**At the Locked Door-**

"What horrors crouched behind this door! Excitement slathered the cave walls…" Flint motioned to the door. "So, uh, yeah. Go ahead and open it now."

Mario: Well then!

He jammed the key into the lock, causing it to unlock and fall onto the floor with a clink. Ganondorf was the last one in, and when he saw Flint start to follow, Ganondorf shut the door…and Flint ran straight into it.

"HaHahah! That takes care of my revenge for him wasting precious time out of our lives!"

"MINE CART!" Bowser shouted, shoving Zelda and Sonic out of the way while he jumped into it. "Oh yeah! Make room for Bowser baby!"

"You could have just said "Excuse me", you know!" Sonic huffed while getting up from the floor. Link was helping Zelda back to her feet while Ganondorf and Eggman ran for the cart as well. Unfortunately, the force of them both jumping into the cart with what little room it had left caused it to start moving.

"Heh, this should be fun to watch," smirked Samus, sipping a Shroom Shake.

The cart instantly plunged downward, Bowser throwing up his hands and calling his voice into the wind. The force of the cart plummeting and gaining speed caused Eggman to fly out the back, hanging onto the edge of the cart since his life probably depended on it.

"Grah! SLOW THIS THING DOWN!" Ganondorf roared, the back half of his body dangling over the side of the cart. Bowser was completely oblivious to his fellow fiends' fate and just enjoyed the ride. Upon seeing the track twist into a loop, Eggman let out a terrified shriek. He was now flapping upside down while Ganondorf nearly fell out of the cart.

"Are we nearly done yet?" wailed the doctor, now only gripping with one hand and it was starting to get rather difficult.

"Why are ya trying to make it end quicker? Woo hoo!" cheered Bowser. "Everyone! No hands!"

"No thank you!" Eggman shouted back.

"More like no feet for me…" muttered Ganondorf, whose face was smashed into the bottom of the cart by this point. Finally, the cart started going up a steep slope, Eggman practically dragging on the tracks. When the cart hit the stopper, Ganondorf went flying out first, only to be smashed by Eggman and finally Bowser.

"Why do I always end up on the bottom? !" shouted Ganondorf, struggling to pull himself out.

"Let's go again, grah ha ha ha ha!" Bowser laughed.

"Please…no…never again…" Eggman panted, slumping on the floor.

**The Following Room-**

"Ugh, there's still more to traverse!" whined Kirby, hacking at a Floro Sapient with his Final Cutter. "Oh well…"

"Maybe it won't be that long…" Amy trailed, holding Cudge curiously. There was large rock in their way, but the peculiar thing about it was that it was the same size and shape as a yellow block.

"Go ahead! Hit it! See what'll happen!" Cudge encouraged.

"Okay then…"

She swung Cudge's hammer, and to her surprise, she managed to break the block. A ? block was revealed behind it, and Zelda gave it a whack.

A Mega Star popped out of it.

"Everyone, hold on!" Link instantly ordered, right as everyone was about to burst into a fight over who should get it. "Who had it last time?"

"Wasn't it Team BEG?" Peach asked.

"Yeah, we got it right before we met up with Miss Aran over here," Eggman replied, pointing to Samus as if he needed extra proof.

"Then it's our turn!" Sonic cheered as he plowed through the star's containment, obtaining the Star and causing his whole team to grow into large 8-bit monsters of destruction.

"Oh yeah, this'll be fun…" Samus trailed as she went on a rampage. The other two teams held each other for support- now that she was huge, Samus' missiles were fifty times as deadly! Every time she shot one, a large BOOM rattled throughout the caverns.

"Ha! Take that, stupid bricks and monsters!" Kirby laughed maniacally.

"It's not even fair- Samus demolished mostly everything!" Link complained.

"I just enjoy the increased height," Sonic admitted as he ran around like a maniac. Eventually, the bigness wore off, and the five of them fell to the ground, now drained of power. When they glanced up, they realized that they were at a dead end.

"Wha-what? ! But this was supposed to take us to deeper parts of the cavern!" Samus gasped.

"We've been lied to!" Sonic shouted. "What is the world coming to? !"

Mario held off from panicking for a bit, turning around and locating the rest of the group. Amy gave a small wave when she saw Mario looking, then slammed her hammer into a block that he and his team had bypassed. When it shattered, a door was now accessible. Mario smiled and quickly ran over- this wasn't a dead end after all.

"Hey! Where's he going?"

"I dunno, let's follow anyway."

Link, Sonic, Kirby, and Samus got up off the ground and ran after Mario, who ran after the rest of the crew who had entered the hidden door. When he poked his head in, Mario found a room filled with blue crystallites, and the Star Block.

"What do you know?" Amy said with a shrug.

"Whew! I almost thought it was the end of the world!" exclaimed Kirby. "Nice to see that it's all good."

Yeah, Mario agreed silently in his head as he hit the Star block. It's all good…for now.

. . .

"You want REAL danger? How about my duel with the foul Rainbowzilla? !"

As the heroes descended into the Floro Caverns, Flint Cragley entertained them all.

"Boss. BOSS! Cragnons heard that story 255 times, brah…You making my crag hurt."

"Brah, if you count the time we weren't tied up, then it 256 times."

Mario and Co. glanced over at the weary faces of Flint's crew as they delved deeper. But a light grew…Was it a ray of hope from the Pure Heart, or an evil illusion?

* * *

**Another chapter of Chapter 5 down...next week is the final one then the _dreaded_ boss. DX **


	35. The Menace of King Croacus

Super Paper Mario X

Chapter 34: The Menace of King Croacus

"CRAGLEY HO! We plodded on, traipsing over all manners of beasts that gnashed fangs at us! But then…NOO! A sight too horrible to believe appeared before our eyes!"

"He stealing my monologue thunder," grumbled Link.

"No he's not- his are way more dramatic and more verbally inclined than yours!" Kirby added helpfully. Link gave him a look as Hornfels surveyed the surroundings.

"Boss…nothing happen yet, brah…"

"I know that, you cretin! The "sight too horrible to believe" is still up ahead! We're going to look for it now! Come on, MOVE!"

Flint marched off, his two crew members exchanging worried glances.

"Whuh? Wait up, brah!"

"Boss, no! Monzo no want to get left behind, brah!"

They scurried off too, leaving the heroes to navigate through the caverns for themselves.

"Okay, the Pure Heart is definitely around here, I can feel it," Tippi shared. "All we have to do is get to the center of it all, grab it, and get out."

"Ah Tippi, you make it sound so easy," Sonic laughed. "Let's get serious people. This is the final area, this place is swarming with plants, and you know were bound to have to do something complicated. We need a game plan, people!"

"What happened to just throwing yourself into it?"

"This time, plants are involved."

Mario sighed and marched onward- these caverns were just like the previous ones, only slightly more complicated…and a lot darker. Putrid Piranhas poked their tropical heads out of pipes (and were killed by Kirby), red and yellow Floro Sapiens marched up and down at their posts (and were killed by Bowser), red and purple Floro Sapiens guarded a long and important hall (and were killed by Amy), and a door sat at the end of this long and important hall (and was discovered by Mario).

"Hey…what's this place…?" Link asked slowly as they all peeked in from the ajar door.

"Is it the Processing Center? !" Sonic gasped. "OH NO-"

"Shhhhh, does it look like anything's being processed in here?" Samus snapped silently back.

"What's that Cragnon doing?" Amy asked, watching a spouted Cragnon head toward a large semi-transparent blue screen in the middle of the room. He walked under it, it scanned him, and a light turned green. He continued walked through and entered a fancy teal door at the other side of the room.

"I'd bet that that's where King Croacus is," Zelda said confidently. "We have to get in there!"

"How? I don't think that scanner will let us by…" Peach trailed.

"Obviously you have be a plant or part plant to get by," Kirby stated.

"Anyone here part plant?" Sonic asked, getting no positive response.

"Well, we've got someone who's part egg," Ganondorf suggested.

"An egg isn't a plant, you dolt!"

"Unless it's an eggplant!" cackled Bowser, slapping Ganondorf a high five.

"Please get serious!" pleaded Amy.

"It's like an exclusive club that's only for plants! What snobs!" scoffed Link.

"I just said get serious!"

"I say we go hunt down the Processing Center," Sonic said seriously.

"But I don't want to get brainwashed just to gain access to an exclusive club!" Kirby exclaimed.

"We've got to find _some_ way in there…let's go…" Zelda said, ushering everyone out the door. "I'm pretty sure there's more in these caverns to check out…"

Mario agreed and exited the room as well. The only other way to go in this area was down, so down they went. In the lower part of the area was: a) a pipe, b) a tiny pipe, c) a Shroom, and d) a Zombie Shroom (which was killed by Link).

"I wonder where this tiny pipe leads to…" Kirby trailed, observing it closely.

"I wonder how anyone's even supposed to get down into it," stated Zelda curiously.

"I say we focus on the one we can get through," Samus said, going down the bigger pipe.

. . .

"THERE'S THE PROCESSING CENTER-"

"Calm down, a Cragnon just walked through a door-"

"Out of the Processing Center!"

The group jumped down, with Sonic being first, and landed in front of a white and blue door. When they entered, Sonic found a sign that said "Processing Center", while everyone else noticed a locked door that required a Card Key.

"Just like on the moon…ah, memories!"

"Must…get…into…Processing Room!" Sonic exclaimed, kicking at the door vigorously.

"What's up with you and the Processing Room anyway?" Tippi asked.

"How would you like having no control over your mind and actions, all being manipulated by a plant no less? This is more than just a kidnapping- this is getting people back in control over themselves!"

"Well we can't do that until we locate the Card Key that can probably found in a random location," sighed Samus. "Just like always…"

"And this crack seems suspicious as well!" Kirby announced, sitting on the floor trying to see what was on the other side. "It's like a very thin opening in the wall!"

"Do you see anything?"

"I think…can't quite tell what it is though."

"Maybe that's the Card Key," Zelda shrugged.

"If it is, I should hit you for being right all the time," Bowser grunted.

"And if you hit her, I punch you in the face," Link butted in.

"And if you punch me in the face, I'll barbeque you!"

"And if you barbeque Link, I'll be sure to make a salad to go on the side-"

"KIRBY!"

"What? If you're going to be barbequed, the least you could have is a side dish!"

**Outside the Door-**

"All right then, since we came from up there," Peach began, pointing to where they fell down from. "Then we should go down there."

Mario looked over the ledge of where they currently were- the caverns kept getting deeper and deeper! At this rate they'd be at the center of the world! Nevertheless, Mario led the group down, and came in contact with a Floro Sapient. Zelda blew his head off with Farore's Wind, then burned his body with Din's Fire.

"That's not violent…"

"No, it was unnecessary. Samus represents a level of violence."

"I heard that!"

"Aw man you guys!" Link wailed. "This door's locked, and there's this tiny red one next to it! We can't get in either one, and there's no where else to look!"

"Or IS there? !" Amy asked dramatically while Kirby flipped into 3D. Mario, Link, Sonic, and Samus were flipped as well, and they all fell down a hole that certainly wasn't there before.

"…I need to stop declaring it's the end…" groaned Link.

"And while you do that, I'll go push that big red button over there," Kirby said, crawling over and sitting on the large red button in the middle of the floor. "Aw, I'm too light!"

Mario got up and walked to the button too, but when he stepped on it, it still didn't go down.

"Why don't you go over there, Sam? I'm sure you'd be heavy enough!" Sonic suggested lightheartedly, but Samus knew he was trying his hardest not to snicker. She held her head up high, marched over to the button, and stood on it as well.

"What the heck? ! Not even Samus standing on it made it go down all the way!" Link exclaimed as the other six appeared on the scene.

"What're you guys doing…?" Peach asked.

"Trying to push a button," Sonic replied as he and Link joined in. Zelda tilted her head.

"Even with all that weight you can't get it to go down?"

"Maybe you should stand on it Eggman," Ganondorf suggested. "It'll go down for sure!"

"Ha ha," Eggman said dryly, yet he headed over anyway. "Make some room!"

"There _is_ no room!"

When Eggman managed to squeeze onto the button as well, it STILL didn't go down. Ganondorf was completely surprised.

"Time for plan B- Bowser, you get up there."

"Then there'll be even less room!" Link cried.

"Obviously we need a different tactic!" Samus yelped.

So it went like this: Bowser got on, nothing happened, Ganondorf got on, nothing happened, Team ZAP got on, and nothing happened. All eleven of them were now struggling to stay balanced on the single button while trying to figure out what to do. Out of the corner of his eye, Mario spotted a Cragnon walking around, and he suddenly had a **_very_** risky idea.

He tossed Thoreau at him.

"MARIO WHAT'RE YOU-"

Now that the Cragnon added to the weight as well, the button finally sank into the ground. The small movement was enough to knock over the tower of heroes and leave them in a huge heap. While they were picking themselves up, a pipe emerged out of the floor.

"Well that was easy!" Sonic exclaimed, and by the tone of his voice, it was impossible to tell whether or not he was being sarcastic.

**Down the Pipe-**

"Who would have thought we'd get so much embarrassment out of pushing a button?"

"It's all behind us now…"

"All we need to think about now is do we go down the other pipe or through the door?" Kirby sighed, meekly pointing at the forked path.

"I dunno, I don't like the looks of this door," Link said suspiciously, looking the door up and down.

"Well let's burn it to the ground then!" Bowser cheered.

Mario: *goes down the pipe*

"Way to ruin my fun, you mustached menace!"

Mario: *shrugs*

As Bowser fumed on the sidelines, Amy flashed Cudge and brought him down on two Spanias that were in the room. When she was finished, she happened to glance up and find a picture of a skull chalked up on the wall.

"I hope that isn't a sign of something…" she moaned.

"I feel like it's hiding something…" Tippi trailed, sensing something more to the doodle. "This might seem odd, but Eggman, use Fleep on the skull…"

Eggman shrugged and summoned his Pixl's power. Fleep happily sang out as he maneuvered over to the skull, quickly spinning afterward. A key emerged out of the wall, and Peach jumped over and caught it.

"…I found the key!"

"You can't take credit for my hard work!"

"Ahem, I believe it was MY hard work, amore amore!"

"It doesn't matter!" Ganondorf huffed. "Just get that stinkin' key back up to the locked door!"

"I though it'd be a lot harder to obtain that this…"

**Back at the Locked Door-**

"Hooray for bypassing going through several doors on our way back up!" Link cheered as Peach unlocked the door. When they entered, they found a slightly cramped room with blocks stacks just about everywhere. Mario, being the adventurer he was, climbed up the blocks and jumped over a wall in the middle of the room.

Unfortunately he had no way back over.

Before he could warn his friends about it, they all threw themselves over the wall as well…THEN realized they couldn't get back over. Mario just shook his head- they couldn't even let him tell them what he scouted before taking the risk?

"Thanks for telling us, Mario!" Eggman yelled. "Now we're stuck!"

Mario: Anytime.

"EEEEEK! F-F-found us!" a voice suddenly yelled. The group's oncoming argument was defused as they turned to a shaking Cragnon with a Pixl floating next to him. "Gabbro thought this was good hiding spot, since key was lost, brah!"

"Yes, this is unexpected…" the Pixl agreed, eyeing the heroes gawking back at her. "But so is a storm of rain. Such is the way of things. There are no absolutes…"

"Wh-wh-whut do we do, brah?" Gabbro panicked.

"Come, come, be at peace. Calm your raging inner sea. Let us meditate on this…"

"You probably right brah…got it!" Gabbro turned to the group and practically gave himself up. "E-Evil brahs! You take Gabbro. Gabbro give up…but her…do not hurt Pixl!"

The Pixl's eyes widened. "But you…"

"No. Let Gabbro speak, brah…you kept Gabbro company…You helped Gabbro hide…Gabbro owe you big, brah. Big debt for Pixl! Gabbro's time ending, but Gabbro really want you to live free…"

"Come, now, ease your mind. Let me muffle the wails of your frightened soul…Do not be hasty in fear! Look closer…that is not one of the Floro Sapiens!"

Gabbro jumped in surprise. "What? Who are you brahs?"

"We look nothing like those decapitated flowers!" Amy declared.

"Could you…you come to save Gabbro?"

"In a sense-"

"Wasn't on the schedule, pal! But I guess we just did," Bowser said. "So you're not one of those Floro zombie things, either? Neither was Flint Cragley!"

"What! ? Flint here, too! ? Gabbro HUGE Cragley fan! Cragley do something, brah! Cragley save us all!"

"More like we'll save you all," muttered Sonic.

"I bet they've edited Flint's show into an anime- that would be the only way it could get popular!"

"Only if it had decent dubbing."

Meanwhile, the Pixl was smiling softly at Gabbro. "Well, isn't that welcome news! Why don't you go find Flint? For I must bid you farewell."

Gabbro's happiness went south for the winter and then some. "WHAT! ? WHY! ? You not come with Gabbro? !"

"Humans and Pixls…or Cragnons and Pixls, for that matter…shouldn't linger long together. Only heroes who know how to utilize the Pixls properly can travel with them…Please, heed my words now…It's best for you this way."

Poor Gabbro just started shaking even harder. "Oh, crag…"

"Come now, let me assist you in your departure from here. Let your aura shrink…When it diminishes, you can return to the village where the one you seek awaits."

Gabbro felt a wave of calmness come over him as Dottie used her shrinking power, enabling him to escape out of the small red door.

"Thank you, great Pixl brah…Gabbro not forget you!"

Outside of the door, the group could hear Gabbro burst into tears. Either that, or he was abducted by a Floro Sapient. Not even Mario could decipher that "WAAHHH!" from another.

"Farewell, weeping Cragnon! Go frolic beneath the sun, where you are meant to live," Dottie said. "Rain still falls in my heart. The taken souls cry out…why do they cry such tears? You must stop this torrent. Fate brought us together. Great heroes of 1500 years…"

"You have to wonder how we were heroes for that long if we weren't even around then."

"Now you must take me there…to the deep, dark, underbelly of the earth…"

Dottie twirled around Ganondorf, and the king of Evil suddenly found himself saddled with a new Pixl.

"Oh come on! I don't want her! She's so…calm!"

"Yeah, we know, it goes against your beliefs to not be a hothead," Eggman scoffed, turning the tables for once. Ganondorf just folded his arms.

"Well I already know no one is going to trade me, so I'll keep her, but I won't like her…"

"Things change, with the simplicity of time…" Dottie trailed tranquilly. "Surely you will warm up to me, as you will grow on me. You're not as soft spirited as that Cragnon, but it could change…"

"See? She speaks in complex riddles!"

"I'm just glad I'm not the only girl Pixl anymore!" Carrie cheered. Ganondorf just shook his head.

"Argh, whatever. Let's just get out of here-"

"So we can get the Card Key, enter the Processing Center, get Processed, then enter the exclusive plant club!" Kirby exclaimed.

"First, we are not getting Processed, and two, I doubt that fancy door leads to a Plant's Only club," Sonic huffed. "Honestly, how'd that even start?"

Link raised his hand. "That was me, I was caught up in the moment…"

"Let us go! Before the rain of tears becomes a flood…before disaster breaks…" Dottie urged.

"But I enjoy floods and disaster…" Ganondorf grunted under his breath as he used Dottie's powers to shrink them all and escape like Gabbro did.

**Back at the Processing Center-**

"You hear that?" Sonic shouted as he pounded on the secured door once again. "You won't be Processing anyone else, you hear me, you Center! It's on now!"

"I think you're taking this a bit too far…" Zelda sighed.

"Really? Because I was just about to bust the door down," said Samus.

"That's the kind of recklessness that villains see as suspicious, and then they find heroes, and lock them in a jail until they escape because the villains went to grab a snack or something."

"I'll have you know that I have never "grabbed a snack" while I was on the job!" Ganondorf yelled.

"I have the occasionally meat or Hot Wings," Bowser admitted.

"I had a jumbo sub once," Eggman admitted.

"Well that's expected from you, Eggy."

Just as Eggman went to attempt a punch, Ganondorf shrunk with Dottie and avoided the attack. He let out a small chuckle- then laughed harder when Eggman tripped over himself.

"Well, I guess you've got a little more use than I gave you credit for," he admitted.

"Just give people a chance, and they will be proven to you…" Dottie trailed. "Don't be so quick to judge, my friend."

Ganondorf let Dottie's words soak in as he walked through the small path under the wall, reaching the object the Kirby had spotted earlier. It turned out that it was the Card Key after all. When he returned back to the group, he handed the Card Key to Mario who slid it in the slot. The light turned green, indicating that it was accepted.

Sonic and Samus burst into the Processing Room, ready to tear things up.

"…well darn."

The area was clear of any suspicious activity, with the acceptation of two pipes in the room. Sonic's eye caught on the pipe that was actually accessible and jumped down it just as the rest of the group piled into the room. He jumped off the edge of the entrance to the next room and landed in the lower area. He scowled.

"I can't believe this…"

"What's up, Sonic?" Amy asked, jumping down next to him. "What's the big-ooh, never mind."

Brainwashed Cragnons were all locked up in huge metallic cages, forced to pace up and down in unforgiving captivity. It was one thing to be mind controlled, but mind controlled and locked up? Talk about crossing the line.

"We have to get them out of here!" Sonic announced.

"Try using the giant blue switch you're standing on, genius," Samus snickered. Sonic glanced down, and sure enough, there was indeed a blue switch. Bowser practically tossed him off as he took his place, he and Thudley ready for action. When the Koopa King ground pounded into the switch, red lights started flashing and sirens began to blare.

"Oh no, someone called the cops!" wailed Kirby, ducking for cover.

"No, the cages are lifting!" "And the Cragnons are out for chlorophyll! Run! RUN!"

The newly freed Cragnons weren't completely free- they still had their minds captured! And right now, they were charging at the group in the middle of the room.

"Ugh! Why is the urge to beat these cave people so strong?" groaned Bowser, fighting the will to shove them all out of the way. Everyone else climbed onto the square blocks lined down the middle of the room, allowing them to hop over the Cragnons without harming them. Zelda went the opposite way, finding a chest with a Floro Cragnien card. She cringed- what if it made their attacks against the Cragnons even stronger?

"C'mon, Princess!" Link shouted over the blaring of the alarms. Zelda put the card away and glided after everyone else. They had exited through a pipe on the far side of the room, and for one thing, they still had no way to get past the scanning screen in the first room.

But at the moment, they had bigger things to deal with.

"Ah ha ha. So! At long last, you've come to play, like late-sleeping toddlers!"

"So you're back like…like…like a case of the common cold!" Amy shot back to Dimentio and O'Chunks, who were apparently waiting for them.

"Yeah, and fortunately, your disease has an effective cure- US," Link added, reading his blade. O'Chunks said nothing, but Dimentio was looking as confident as ever.

"Ahhhh…do you not tire of collecting those worn-out, tiresome Pure Hearts?" Dimentio asked. "I am not violent by nature, you know. I'd prefer to settle this peacefully, in fact. Say, for instance, you wished to go back to your world. I could do that for you…"

"R-Really…?" Zelda asked. Dimentio nodded.

"He's the Master of Dimensions, you know," Samus grunted, aiming her cannon at the jester clown. "I bet he's the reason why we can't teleport very far…he's blocking us from being able to do so, in a sense."

"And correct you are. Perhaps you did listen before I saved your life," Dimentio chuckled.

"You didn't save me- you nearly killed me!"

"But I didn't, now did I? Like I said, I'm not violent by nature."

"Oh, PLEASE! You know what you smell like weirdo? FEAR. Stop crying and fight!" Bowser barked.

"Ah ha ha. So it must be…Shall we begin?" He raised his hands once more and brought them all to Dimension D.

"Ugh, here again? You're only going to fail again, plus this green you choose for the walls makes me sick! What a putrid color!" Peach snapped.

"And just what is wrong with green, hm?" Link asked, tapping a foot. Peach realized what she said and grinned sheepishly at the Hero of Time.

"Ugh…haven't you learned?" Tippi asked, getting ready to repeat what Peach had basically said. "No matter how often we fight, it will end the same…"

"My, my. Aren't you plucky? Same fight, same outcome…you are precisely correct," hummed Dimentio. "And…that…is…why…"

He snapped his fingers, and a sprout just like the Floro Cragniens wore appeared on O'Chunks' head.

"BRO-CCOLI!"

"Lovely green hat, wouldn't you say?" Dimentio sang.

"Hrrrgh? ! Whoa woah WHOA! I don't fight veggies!" Bowser yelped.

"Dear O'Chunks! So strong, yet so very dim! A child could learn his attack patterns. As such, I requested a few sprouts from my acquaintance to liven him up a touch. I call the boy "O'Cabbage"! Don't be shy, O'Cabbage! Introduce yourself!"

O'Cabbage started banging on his chest like a wild gorilla. "CAB-BAGE!"

"Ah ha ha. Simply adorable. Now remember, kids: eat your vegetables to grow big! Except in this case, a veggie will eat YOU! Have fun, now! Ciao!"

"Oh yeah?" Zelda called as Dimentio disappeared. "We'll have fun turning your cabbage into a salad!"

"Ooh, good one!" applauded Link. Zelda gave a small curtsey.

"Thank you."

"AS-PARA-GUS!"

O'Cabbage suddenly whirled his arms around in a move that was new to everyone. He made contact with Zelda, who was standing the closest, and sent her flying.

"I see we're going to get smacked around aga-" Ganondorf started to say before O'Cabbage plowed into his side and crushed him against the wall. He then backed away from Ganondorf and ground pounded Kirby, who wasn't quite quick enough to act. O'Cabbage continued the assault by smacking Link into Peach and sending them into the floor. The fight has just began and Mario was pretty sick and tired of O'Cabbage tossing his friends around. Just as he went to strangle Amy, Mario threw Thoreau, latched onto the Scottish brute, and chucked him into the air.

Mario: Go go go!

Samus leapt into the air, charging up a beam while doing so. She launched it at O'Cabbage, causing him to start falling out of the air. Sonic responded with a epic punch to the head, followed by Zelda pulling herself together and blowing O'Cabbage into the wall with Farore's Wind. Bowser ground pounded him with Thudley for extra payback.

"SPIN-ACH!" O'Cabbage roared, grabbing Bowser's foot and bowling him into Eggman.

"AYYIIEE!"

O'Cabbage carried on his rampage, trying to grab Peach this time. She reflected the attack with her umbrella, but with how hard he was pounding on it, she wasn't sure if it was going to hold up.

"Leave her alone!" Link snapped, running towards the brute with Mario. Mario threw Thoreau and grabbed him, tossing him up for Link to attack. He rapidly slashed at the plant-controlled fiend, bashing him back down to the ground with his sword. As he tumbled back down, his back made sharp contact with the tip of Kirby's Final Cutter. Amy then ran up, Cudge's hammer in tow.

"Looks like I've got this right on the head of nail!" she shouted, pounding her hammer into his torso. O'Cabbage rolled onto the floor, howling in pain. He was mad now. He bolted forward, arm ready to plow over anyone that got in his way. Unfortunately, that happened to be Samus, Zelda, and Kirby. Right before any serious damage was dealt, O'Cabbage was suddenly forced to stop running by a hand placed on his forehead.

"Where do you think you're going, Cabbage Patch Chump?" Bowser asked with a smirk. O'Cabbage gulped. "I'll burn that piece of celery right out of your head and put it on a plate!"

"And serve it with peanut butter!" Kirby called.

"A light ranch would suffice nicely as well," added Zelda.

"Can we_ ever_ have a time when we don't think about food?" groaned Samus.

The Koopa King gave O'Cabbage a taste of his fire breath, scorching the brainwashed menace. He shook off the heat, then grabbed Bowser again and swung him into Sonic. Sonic ducked naturally, causing Bowser to hit the wall face first.

"C'mon, let's just wipe the floor with this guy," Samus suggested, firing a missile and knocking O'Cabbage over. Mario nodded and picked him up again, tossing him in the air and letting him be anyone's game. Sonic spin dashed into him, ricocheting off his armor and bouncing off the walls. Kirby caught him and hit him back with his hammer while Zelda went crazy with Din's Fire, flames rising all around O'Cabbage. Amy ran at Peach, the princess ducking into her umbrella and Amy jumping off of it, gaining some air to slam her hammer down onto O'Cabbage. To her horror, he landed back on the ground and grabbed her by the wrist.

"Oh, not again…"

He threw her like a wet towel, only for him to be face to face with Eggman in his battle mech. The doctor smirked before sending a plethora of missiles in his direction.

"Get a load of that!"

O'Cabbage disappeared in the explosion's smoke, coughing all the while. Peach jumped in and jumped on his head while Ganondorf finally got in an attack by kicking O'Cabbage in the leg. O'Cabbage literally fell over, giving Link the perfect chance to come down on him with his sword. O'Cabbage felt smoke blow out of his nostrils as he sprung back up, taking off into the air. He did a ground pound aimed at Link, but Zelda shoved him out of the way and called upon Nayru's Love.

"Playtime's pretty much over," she stated, blowing O'Cabbage away again.

"Hmph, that was my line," Sonic huffed, delivering a kick to the foe. "But fine, let's just finish him off.

Ganondorf hit him with a wall of flames, Eggman fired lasers, and Samus even dealt a punch. But the finishing move was Peach and Amy giving Mario some air so he could do a flip and crash down on O'Cabbage's head with two fists.

"Buh… buh…BRO-CCOLI!"

It must have done the trick, because Dimension D crumbled from all around them and the Floro spout popped off O'Chunks' head. He suddenly snapped back to his senses.

"'Ey! What in gravy am I doin' in 'ere? ! Hunh? An' what are YOU Doin' in 'ere as well? ! Oh, I get the picture! You lot want teh challenge the new, improved O'Chunks!"

"Didn't he say he was new and improved before?" Peach asked, to which Link shrugged.

"Yeh got pepper in yer pants, I'll give yeh that! But this time, yeh WILL get ruined!" Suddenly, a loud gurgle emitted from O'Chunks stomach. "Whuh-oh…me belly's growlin' like a starvin' dog! Warrior rule number one: Never fight on an empty stomach! 'Tis madness! Sorry, but we've got teh call it a day! Can't go buckin' the warrior rules! Next time, though, yer DONE! Chunks away!"

"Like I said," Zelda began as O'Chunks blasted off. "We get to escape because he's going to get a snack."

"Look…" Tippi trailed, ignoring Zelda pointing out some irony. She hovered over the Floro Sprout. "The sprout from his head…It's the same as on the florified Cragnons."

"We said that already, so what?" Ganondorf asked.

"It's looks as though it's nearly dead, however…"

Mario curiously watched over and picked it up- it was weird, it even _felt _dead.

"Well, what do you think? Would you care to try it on? I believe you'll be safe…"

Mario: *plants it on Bowser's nose*

"HEY! NOW I'M GONNA TURN INTO A MINDLESS POTATO! CURSE YOU, MARIO!"

Tippi nodded carefully. "You…didn't turn into cabbage. That's nice, I guess…This could come in handy…"

"We can get by the scanner!" exclaimed Zelda.

"And Kirby thought we had to get Processed, psh," scoffed Sonic.

"Brrr…now that I think about, how DO they process them?" shivered Kirby. "Must…think…happy…thoughts…"

Once they disappeared through the pipe, Dimentio's calm demented laugh rang through the room.

"Ah ha ha. Mm…if they could beat that model of O'Chunks…then they are coming along quite nicely. Perhaps they really are the ones I've waited for all this time. Ah ha ha. I should prepare myself as well! So much to do, so precious little time…"

**Back at the Fancy Scanning Room-**

"All right Bowser, you can go first since you've got the sprout on your nose," Peach declared.

"GRAH! Fine. Only for you Peach."

Everyone rolled their eyes as Bowser marched proudly into the scanner. They held their breath as the laser light rushed over Bowser, seeing if he was worthy for entrance.

The group nearly threw a party as a green check mark appeared and allowed him through.

"Okay Bowser! Just chuck the spout over here so the rest of us came get by!"

And so, Bowser gave the sprout to Peach, who gave it to Amy, who gave it to Zelda, who gave it to Link, who gave it to Mario, who gave it to Kirby, who gave it to Samus, who hit Sonic in the face with it, who gave it to Eggman, who gave it to Ganondorf, who threw it at Eggman, who threw back to Ganondorf. Once that rigorous process was over, they were all crowded in front of the door that was probably the entrance to King Croacus.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Ganondorf asked, still donning the sprout on his head.

Mario pushed his way to the front, considering no one else was going to want to be the first one in, grabbed the door, and opened it. One interesting ride awaited them within…

* * *

**Good News: Boss Weekend next week! 8D **

**Bad News: It's King Croacus. D:**

**Better News: Chapter 6 will be starting, which means we're getting closer to Chapter 7! :D**

**Best News: We'll be seeing our favorite brainwashed team again next Saturday. ^^**


	36. King Croacus May Be a Girl

Super Paper Mario X

Chapter 35: King Croacus May Be A Girl

"Oh my gosh, what an ugly picture!"

"Link, it's a picture of a black rose with a face."

"Still! It's kinda creepy…"

The room resembled some sort of royal hall, with portraits of previous Floro Sapient royalty along with crowns and jewels decorating the walls. Purple Floro Sapiens roamed the place as well, throwing their heads at the group as a means to protect their king. The only other problem…there was no way to go forward.

"So…erm…how exactly do we find the King?" Amy asked.

"When in doubt, flip about!" Link exclaimed, swapping into 3D and taking his team along for the ride. Now observing the royalty hall in the other dimension, Mario noticed cracks located under the portraits of the Kings (and one Queen). He nudged Link and pointed at the one under the one of King Croacus I. Link placed Boomer on the crack, blasted a hole in the floor, and they all fell through.

"I think we've found out what to do," Samus proclaimed, glancing up at a blue Block.

"I think we should change its color to match the portrait's color," Kirby said.

Sonic raised an eye brow. "Why? And how do you know it can even change color?"

"Just a hunch."

Mario decided to test out Kirby's theory by climbing up the ladder and standing on a block parallel to the blue one. He threw Thoreau at it, turning the block red. Another hit made the block go black.

"Holy cow, an ULTRA SHROOM!" Link shouted, avoiding a Cragnon as he obtained his favorite food. "I wasn't expecting that…but I didn't even get to taste it!"

"Poor Link," said Kirby.

"Well, we changed the block, so let's see if there's anymore we can do," decided Samus, starting to climb out.

So Link blew up the floor under the picture of the white ruler, Queen Croacus, and Sonic descended to change the block's color to white. He started to blow up the one under the blue King Croacus III, but then figured the block underneath was already blue, and marched toward King Croacus IV, the current ruler.

"Hey…there's no crack there," Sonic noticed.

"Blow it up anyway!" Kirby urged, Link throwing Boomer to the floor. When he blew up, another section underneath was revealed, which was sort of to be expected. Mario jumped down there, threw Thoreau at the blue block, and changed it to red. The ground instantly started rumbling, but everyone was just glad that they managed to get something to happen. Team Mario returned next to the other six waiting members of the group after sharing a unified high five.

A green curtain swept over the room, and when it swept back, a huge door, designed just like the one they had come in from, had appeared in-between two of the pictures.

"Looks like this is where Flower Boy is all holed up," Zelda smirked.

"Let's get in there and burn him to the ground!" Bowser roared.

"What's up with you and burning things to the ground?" Peach asked.

"Yeah, you could at least change it up and say you'll burn something to ashes!" suggested Kirby.

"Oh, whatever. Let's just knock this fool silly," Ganondorf stated.

"Yes, we'll sure bring him down to size, hm?" Dottie giggled.

"HA! I get it! Good one, Dottie!" laughed Link. Ganondorf just groaned and walked through the door. Once everyone was in, they struck battle stances…while cringing at the sight of just _who_ they would be up against.

"Ooooo-weeee-ooo…Where, oh where are my pretties?"

It was hard to describe King Croacus in his current state, considering at that very moment he didn't even remotely resemble a flower- just a freakish-looking face that was more female than male. Mario couldn't even tell if he sounded manly…or feminine. It sort of scared him.

"Whoa, what car ran his face over?"

"I think that's the sight too horrible to believe that Cragley mentioned."

"Pretties…Beautiful things…OOO-wee! Bring them to me…More! More! More!" the king continued to moan. The group very hesitantly walked up to the thing, and he instantly recoiled, as if they were the repulsive ones. "…Ooo? What ARE these hideous, clashing things?"

"Clashing? How dare you!" Zelda shouted. "Just by looking at you we can tell you have no sense of fashion!"

"Dude, you seriously need some sort of makeover," Sonic grimaced.

"Lemme guess: King Croacus?" Bowser asked, as if it wasn't already obvious. "Gwah ha ha ha! Prepare for a world-class mulching!"

"Yes, and you must be the intruders that I've heard SO much about…Well, I will NOT forgive this trashening of my beautiful kingdom!"

"Trashening's not even a real word-"

"NOO-WEE-OOO!…Thus you are warned!"

"You think you can take US? Ha!" Samus laughed.

"At least he isn't a Lava Piranha…" mumbled Kirby. "Just a crazy, gender-confused plant."

"You think you can dent a shell as burly as THIS, pretty boy? Let those Cragnons go!"

"Aw, Bowser does care-"

"I do not! I figured you'd appreciate it if I said something like that."

"NEVER! Their sturdy bodies make them SUCH fine workers. Exquisite! I need them to dig up more gems so I can build a bejeweled palace. Ooo-wee!"

"Why, how positively horrid…release them this instant!" Tippi demanded.

"You tell 'im, Tipps!" Link encouraged.

"Trash is garbage, no matter how you dress it. This world is made for beauty! And if you need some proof, then have a look at this!"

King Croacus raised a dark blue Pure Heart over his head, and suddenly everyone had a newfound motivation. Tippi once again pointed out the obvious by saying what it was.

"I can hear it in your voice…you want it SO badly, you can barely think, hmm?"

"Not THAT badly," grunted Ganondorf.

"Seems we all seek beauty…so how DARE you take a high horse over me!"

"Don't compare us to you…We're NOTHING like you!" Tippi shouted back.

"Your blabber hurts my ears! And your smell is wilting me! I can stand you no longer. I rarely stoop to such things, but I'll destroy you myself. Consider it an honor!"

He hid the Pure Heart away once more, then surrounded himself in an armor of sharp pink pedals. A thorny stem stemmed out of him and anchored him to the ground. Three trapezoid plants sprouted as well, ready to serve their king.

"OOoooo-weee-oooo! Here I come!"

Everyone ran into different directions as one of king Croacus' "extensions" came crashing down on them. It hit the floor with a thud, luckily not hurt anyone.

"He's got to come out of that armor eventually…" Zelda said while gritting her teeth.

"So we get up there like this?" Link asked, standing on top of the blue trapezoid plant. He was right next to King Croacus' face, ready to attack when he appeared.

"That is _not_ what I implied!"

"But it works!" Sonic chuckled as Link attacked King Croacus when his face was revealed. Zelda just rested her face in her palm. King Croacus knocked Link off moments later, then pulled back into his petal confinement.

"New strategy time?"

"Here's one! RARGH!" Bowser attempted to burn King Croacus at the stem, but sadly wasn't doing much to the psychotic King.

"We could always break a few rules…" Amy suggested, tossing Cudge around. "You up for it, Kirby?"

"Aren't I always?"

"You too, Sonic!"

"Well, it IS for a good cause…"

"_Please," _Samus practically gagged. Kirby did a small bounce on the floor before being like a bouncy ball and bouncing toward Amy. She struck him with her mallet, sending him ricocheting throughout the room. At long last, King Croacus removed his armor again, giving Kirby the perfect chance to strike him. Once he did, he skidded back onto the ground and smacked Sonic in ball form right back at the King. His sharp quills grazed the king's face, and Kirby and Amy started playing ping-pong.

A low growl escaped from King Croacus as he sent two of his plant minions down on Kirby and Amy, stopping them from hitting Sonic again. Sonic stopped spinning in midair and ended up flying into the king's spiky stem.

"OW! Sharp! Sharp!"

"Oooo-weeeee-oooo!"

"Knock that off! You sound like a deranged siren," sneered Ganondorf.

"Still trying!" Bowser exclaimed, taking a brief break from his futile fire blowing.

Mario, meanwhile, thought up a new way to attack the King, but it would require good timing…and Peach, Zelda, and Eggman. He ran over to Peach and explained what he was thinking.

"You need my help?" Peach asked after Mario told her what she would be doing. "Mmm…okay…"

"I'd be happy to assist," Zelda said pleasantly.

"I don't like what I have to do," grumbled Eggman. Mario ignored him and shoved him into King Croacus' line of sight. He pulled out of laser nevertheless, getting King Croacus to sense the threat and attack with a trapezoid plant. Before it made contact with Eggman, Mario jumped over his head and grabbed the trapezoid with Thoreau. When Mario landed back on the ground, Zelda surrounded him with Nayru's Love, protecting him from any other of King Croacus' weak attempts. Peach sighed and crouched into her umbrella, allowing Mario to jump on it and throw the plant right back at the king. Suddenly, the King's face went into shock as he, the trapezoids, and his stem disappeared.

"That takes care of that overgrown weed," Kirby said proudly.

"There's always more to these battles…" Samus trailed, glancing up. Everyone followed her gaze and realized that King Croacus' head was still floating around.

"How do we hit him this time?"

"We'll figure it out eventu-"

"FLYING PINK PINWHEELS OF DEATH!"

"DUCK!"

King Croacus bellowed in laugher as he removed some of his petals, causing them to form into sharp spinning blades of doom that resembled floating pinwheels. The whole crew was running around in circles…except for Samus, who was standing on Carrie, waiting in the corner for the right moment to attack.

"Try grabbing the petals…" Tippi suggested.

"Isn't that kind of dangerous?" Peach asked, wincing and hiding in her umbrella as one nearly missed her head.

"Especially since they're blades of death! Not a pretty title!" cried Kirby.

Tippi turned to Mario. "Well, what else are you going to do?"

Mario thought it over for a moment, then grabbed Thoreau and ran for one of the blades. He cautiously threw his Pixl at one, but when it came back, it didn't hurt him at all!

Mario: Excellent.

He threw it at King Croacus, who was stunned by the suddenly attack. Mario then motioned to Zelda and Samus and they attacked as well. Samus unleashed several missiles when she had the chance while Zelda shouted "FARORE'S WIND!"

King Croacus and his other two pinwheels went flying into the next wall, giving Team BEG a chance to attack as well. Bowser finally got to burn him with his fire, Eggman shot some lasers, and Ganondorf kicked Croacus right back into the air. Furiously, he sent out his spinning blades again, but Mario was much less hesitant this time around. However, when he tried to grab a petal, he ended up grabbing Croacus' head instead.

"Let me go, you simply filthy thing!" he shouted, shaking in Mario's grasp.

Mario: Okay!

He let go of Croacus…right into two of the pinwheels. He let out a cry of distress as Sonic planted a kick to the face while Kirby pruned him with his Final Cutter. King Croacus enveloped himself in his petals again, getting Sonic and Kirby to back off upon contact.

And so the pattern basically continued: Croacus would send out his petals, Mario would grab one and chuck it at Croacus, then everyone would fight to be the one to attack him. After what seemed like twenty hits later, Peach used Tippi's powers on Croacus, and Tippi said that she felt King Croacus was just about wilted.

"One more hit you guys…" she announced to everyone else.

"About time!" Eggman exclaimed as Mario grabbed what he hoped to be the final petal pinwheel. He gave it a hearty toss at King Croacus, who Zelda got to before he hid in his armor one more time.

"I don't think so," she said somewhat sinisterly as flames started to engulf them both. King Croacus eventually couldn't take the heat, his petals all falling off as he fell to the floor, his color suddenly drained and dulled from his "beautiful" face.

"Even as I wilt…I am…I am…BEAUTIFUL!"

"I think you scorched him a little too much," Link said simply. Zelda shrugged.

"Well, we finished him off, no?"

"I wanted to do that!" whined Bowser.

"K-KING CROACUS!"

One red, one purple, and two yellow Floro Sapiens came burst through the door, running up to their king in a panic.

"What…WHOA! What did you guys DO, huh?" the red one asked.

"We have defeated your king. Get over it…" Tippi said.

"Man, the butterfly's stepping it up a notch!" Ganondorf exclaimed. Tippi gave him a look.

The red flower was furious. "Hey, shut up! You don't get it at all!"

"King Croacus was awesome!" chirped a yellow one. "He totally thought of his people first, man!"

"Certainly didn't seem like it," sated Peach.

"And you…you wilted him!"

"What? What are you talking about?" Tippi asked.

"WATER, man! I'm talking about WATER!" the red Floro shouted. "The Cragnons were polluting our water! Those dudes were tossing trash into the river! We had to DRINK that crud!"

"That dirty water was what drove our king bonkers, don'tcha get it?" the yellow one added sadly.

Mario: :O

"So…then…Oh."

"Of course! I knew it all along!"

"No you didn't, Link."

"HEY! That wasn't me!"

As if on cue, generic adventurer Flint Cragley and his crew emerged out of the door, looking as thought they had this problem taken care of from the get go.

"CRAGLEY HO! Emergency special report from the Floro front lines! Environmental pollution drives Floro Sapiens mad! Whither will they rampage? So the villagers throwing garbage in the river was the reason for this whole thing? Well…I tried to tell those guys, but my thoughts were too far ahead of their time…"

"This play well with green Cragnon crowd…" said Hornfels.

"Ratings EXPLODED, brah! It like "Crags on Ice" meets "Baron von Craggington"! " Monzo threw in.

"Yes, once my fellow villagers see this, they'll surely realize the error of their ways. Once the words of Flint Cragley reach them, they'll throw garbage no more!"

The yellow Floro nodded. "Yeah, water, man…I mean, it's EASILY our most precious treasure, know what I mean? You promise not to dirty our water and we'll chill here and be cool. And we'll totally take those spouts off your villagers' noggins too, man."

"Thank goodness!" Sonic sighed with relief.

"Sounds like a fine way to keep peace in this land….keep those promises folks!" Flint announced.

"That was an unexpected turn…" Tippi admitted.

"At least everyone's happy now," Peach said cheerfully.

"Whaling on our king aside, you guys are totally heroes…you should take this," said the red Floro. "One of the earliest kings received this to safeguard until the heroes' arrival. Our people have kept that promise for, like, 1,500 years, or something crazy like that…I'm sure our king here would be stoked that his duty got done."

"So we commit murder and still get the Heart? Nice!" Ganondorf chuckled.

"It was quite a happy ending, eh brahs?" Link laughed.

"Please tell me you won't carry on that Cragnon accent for much longer…" groaned Zelda.

"What? Just keeping in touch with the inner crag!"

Mario shook his head as he walked up to the dark blue Pure Heart floating just out of his grasp. As it descended down upon him, Thoreau, Boomer, Slim, Dashell, Thudley, Carrie, Barry, Fleep, Cudge, and Dottie all began to dance. Once the Pure Heart was safely in Mario's hands-

"WE GOT A PURE HEART!" shouted nearly everybody.

"Hey! Only I'm supposed to do that, unless I give special permission!" Link cried.

. . .

"Men of true grit witness live what others can only see through crag-vision. That is what moves me to travel into the belly of the beast week after week. Thanks again for watching, and until next time…CRAAAGLEY HO!"

Having wrapped up their latest shoot, Flint and crew went back to Downtown of Crag. Mario and friends clutched the Pure Heart as they walked back toward Flipside. Our heroes had taken a new step toward overturning the prophecy of destruction…

* * *

**So, yeah, there's King Croacus. Nothing spectacular. ****BUUUUT...tomorrow marks the point in the story where things begin to take unexpected turns. 8)**

**(And it looks like I could update after all, since I was having technical difficulties this morning! ^^)**


	37. Boredom Leads to Bad Things

Super Paper Mario X

Chapter 36: Boredom Leads to Bad Things

"Raise yer chunks in the air, as the most debonair man o' men strides into the room!" sang O'Chunks back at Castle Bleck. "Springin' forth from 'is lair as 'is foes all despair, for Bleck for the name o' their doom! Whoa-OH! That's our Bleck! Blecky, Bleckity DOO! Yeh, uh…something Bleck…That's the guy who says…woo?"

O'Chunks collapsed from exhaustion as Mimi teleported in, and she wasn't looking very happy.

"Gosh, O'Chunks, QUIT IT! You're breaking windows! What are you yelling about?"

"Oh, that? Yeah, I just had O'Chunks come up with a nice motivational tune," Nastasia explained, adjusting her glasses. "And as punishment for getting bested by those heroes AGAIN, I'm making him sing it 1,000 times."

"1,000...1,000 TIMES! ? Gosh, you're even more evil than I thought!" Mimi gaped. "Hey, but enough chatting! So where's the count, huh? I wanna see him! He hasn't called me to do anything, and I'm getting SOOOO BORED!"

"O'Clanky was the reason my glass of juice shattered?" Lass M grunted as she entered the room as well. "It's torture for everyone if you're making him sing it a thousand freaking times!"

"If you wanted a motivational tune, you should have asked _me!" _Master K said eagerly, appearing next to her. "After all, I JUST made this new RADICAL theme for us, and it's better and more catchy than ever before! I-"

"Oh, just cork it…" Sir MK sighed as he swooped over them. Master K shook a fist at him while Lass M looked particularly bored. Mimi was twitching with anger.

"What are you newbies doing here? This is an important meeting for important people!"

"Yeah, and the most important person will be arriving shortly," Lass M shot back.

"HEY COUNT!" Mr. L shouted, dropping onto his platform as well. "My destructive little friend is all gassed up and itching to get back in action. Yes, Brobot is begging me to take him out. Say the word, and I'll roll out."

"Yeah, great enthusiasm, but let's shelve the robot action plan for now, 'K?" Nastasia ordered. "The thing is, the Count left specific orders for us to stand by. Got that?"

Mimi was disgusted. "No way! We're just supposed to wait here for those big, mean heroes to come get us?"

Mr. L, on the other hand, seemed pleased. "So the count doesn't need my services? Excellent. I'll just be off, then."

"YOU GO NOWHERE!" Nastasia exhausted. "We wait! It's the count's direct order! His word is absolute! Be a good little minion and DO NOT MOVE UNTIL TOLD! …K? Thanks."

In a huff, she jumped off her platform and went to attend different matters, leaving Mimi and Team Mr. L dumbstruck and O'Chunks still out of breath.

"But I'm bored!" complained Mini.

"Yeah, and Brobot craves his daily SMASH! I can't just loiter here. There's no action!"

"And my new hit song MUST be released to the world!" shouted Master K. "It's just that awesome!"

"Ah ha ha. Hard to stay still when you pine for sweet vengeance, isn't it?"

"Dimentio!" everyone but O'Chunks cried.

"The count's orders _are _all absolute…completely without exception, yes? We shouldn't even _dare_ to think about a sneak attack. Perish the thought! Defeating the heroes _would_ please the count greatly…but we MUST follow orders!"

Mimi and Mr. L instantly had ideas. Sir MK rolled his eyes.

"I don't like the looks of this…"

"Oopsie! I just remember something real important that I gotta do! Back in a jiffy! Bye!"

Mimi excitedly teleported out of the room while Mr. L was forming a plan in his devious little mind.

"Yeaaah…Yeah. I've, uh, got to go deflavorize the Brobot's, uh…Flavorizer. I'll return once everything's up to code. L-ater, Dimentio. Come along, minions!"

"Aw, I hate being a sub-minion…" whined Master K as Mr. L, Lass M, and Sir MK jumped off their platform. "Well, whatever. K-atch ya later!"

Once Master K went to follow them, Dimentio chuckled to himself.

"Ah ha ha. My, my, isn't that something? I do believe I should be moving on as well."

And so he teleported away, leaving O'Chunks still pretty much exhausted.

. . .

"So what's the plan, Thunder?" Master K asked, once he caught up with the rest of the group. "I've never seen a Flavorizer before!"

"I made it up, Master K," Mr. L sighed. Master K gasped.

"What? Why'd you lie? !"

"Oh please, you act like Mimi didn't lie either," Lass M sneered. "She's obviously going to hunt down the heroes like we are!"

"But we'll let Mimi go first…" Mr. L explained. "Then when she fails, we swoop in, defeat the heroes, and take the praise and glory all for ourselves!"

"Am I the only one who finds it suspicious that Dimentio planted that idea in our heads?" Sir MK asked.

"No, he helped us by giving us a simple suggestion!" Mr. L replied.

"Stop being so uptight and cautious about everything, sheesh!" added Lass M.

"Fine, but if something goes wrong and it involves Dimentio, don't say I didn't warn you."

"But technically you didn't warn us-"

"Quiet, Master K."

Master K shut up as they continued to walk down the hall. Mr. L then fully revealed his plan.

"So basically, we'll all climb into my precious little brother, follow Mimi who will most likely find the heroes, then wait for the right moment to strike!"

"Isn't the seventh Pure Heart in the world that's getting ready to blow next?" Lass M asked.

"I think so…why?"

"I'm just saying we should be a bit careful…"

"Why? It doesn't matter if_ we_ get sucked into the Void- we'll just end up back here!"

Sir MK started hard at the floor and clenched his fists. "If we get caught in the envelopment of a world, then it's very possible we'll be destroyed along with it. What Lady M is trying to say is that if we're in the wrong place at the wrong time, it's game over…and besides, I don't really like the sound of that..."

"If we're lucky, then Mimi AND the heroes will blow up!" cried Master K, trying to raise the morale. "Then we can fly back and say that we got rid of the heroes and Mimi suffered the consequences of not listening."

"Plus a Pure Heart would be lost as well," Mr. L said, a sparkle in his eye. "We're still going anyway."

"Okay…just don't get us killed…"

"Hey, where's Captain T?" Sir MK asked, just now realizing he was missing. Lass M shrugged.

"I dunno. Haven't seen the brat since he finished fixing up Brobot."

"He better not be screwing something up!" Master K said, punching the air with his massive fists.

"Calm down, I have a feeling I know where he is," Mr. L interrupted, getting his team to go silent. "He won't mess with anything because he knows the consequences…"

. . .

Speak of the little devil, Captain T was currently sitting in Brobot, all by himself staring at the watches. He had remembered what Nastasia and his…"fellow teammates" had talked about- they couldn't make contact with the heroes because they were long distance.

"I fixed them…" he whispered to himself, still gazing at the five of them. "I don't know how, but it was like I knew just what to do…"

Now Team Mr. L's watches could make long distance contact, but if he wanted to make contact with the heroes, he would need to fix their watches as well. He highly doubted that Mr. L would approve of that, and he also doubted that the heroes would allow him to anyway.

Even the watches weren't at the top of his thoughts at the moment, because of something he had seen when he fixed the watches. When he was finished fixing Sir MK's, his fingers accidentally brushed against a play button, and the screen suddenly lit up.

"The watches can record videos too?" Captain T had said. It wasn't very surprising, since they could do just about everything except tell time. What had scared Captain T was that the watch showed Sir MK himself being attacked by Nastasia…and turning _into_ Sir MK.

"So…was Sir MK some sort of hero before this?" he asked himself. "Were we all good guys before all of this? Nrh…argh!"

Captain T grabbed his head and placed it between his knees. He had been getting these terrible headaches, even before he had seen the video. They had only gotten worse after he found the video. The feeling that he'd been somewhere before…the feeling that the watches were familiar besides the fact he owned one himself…the feeling that he knew something that no one else did…

"Is there something I've forgotten?" he winced, still trying to console himself from the pain. "Ungh…"

"HEY KID!"

"AUGH!"

Captain T fell to the floor, gripping his head even tighter. It was one thing to be exposed to loud noise when you had a migraine, but add having very sensitive hearing in the first place to that? It was pure torture. Every step Mr. L took closer to Captain T drove him mad, with the loud clanking sounds, but there was nothing he could do about it.

"What the heck are you doing?" Lass M asked when she saw him sprawled out on the floor. Captain T had to ignore his pounding head as he scrambled to scoop up their watches before they saw them.

"N-Nothing…I just figured you'd enjoy not having my company and-"

"Hey, he's got our watches!" Master K shouted, nearly tackling him to get his back. "Hand it over!"

"What are you doing with those? !" Sir MK demanded to know.

"I bet he stole them from Nastasia!" Lass M yelled.

"She gave them back to me…" Captain T whimpered.

"But you didn't give them back to _us?" _Mr. L questioned sternly. Captain T shook his head.

"I fixed them-"

"I bet he rigged them with a bomb!" shouted Master K. "I KNEW IT!"

"Will you shut up and quit jumping to conclusions? !" shouted Lass M and Sir MK.

Mr. L meanwhile grabbed Captain T by the wrist and brought him to eye level.

"Hand them over and I won't beat you senseless."

Captain T gulped and gave him the four watches.

"Ahem, I believe you're missing one?" he coughed, pointing to the one on Captain T's wrist.

"B-But that one's mine!"

"It's mine now."

Captain T bared his fangs, but said nothing as he removed his watch and threw it at Mr. L. The Green Thunder caught it coolly then dropped Captain T.

"Get ready, kid, we're going on a field trip. Be happy we're actually letting you tag along after your screw up last time."

"I'd rather not," he grunted back, slumping in a corner.

"Positions, my minions! We're taking my brother for a spin!"

"Can I bust out the music now?"

"Not yet, Master K."

"Aw, come ON!"

Lass M jumped in the seat next to the driver, Sir MK sat at the controls for the weapons, and Master K sat at the window, dying to turn on his new boom box. Captain T stayed in his corner, glaring daggers at Mr. L as he took control of Brobot in the driver's seat.

"As so, we are off to go down in history!"

"Woo hoo!" everyone but the Orange Tornado cheered. The gang acted like they were having a party as Brobot blasted off, and Team Mr. L was off to go wreak havoc on the only hope for the worlds…

Or for what worlds still remained.

* * *

**Just the tip of the iceburg. Can't wait to get farther along. 8)**

**(And about time I got this up. :P)**


	38. All This For Piccolo

Super Paper Mario X

Chapter 37: All This For Piccolo

_"Look, Timpani. The stars are beautiful, aren't they?"_

_"…There's a tradition in my village. We believe that wishes on stars come true."_

_"Oh, is that so? In that case we better get wishing, don't you think?"_

_"I don't need to wish anymore."_

_"Mmm?"_

_"I already got my wish. Now…I have everything I need right here."_

_"Timpani…aren't you cold?"_

_"Not at all. I'm very warm…can we stay like this? Just a little longer?"_

. . .

"Tippi…Tippi…"

"Wha-?"

"What's the matter, Tippi? You seemed a little out of it there…" Peach told her.

"Well…didn't you just hear something?"

"Besides my stomach growling?" Kirby moaned.

Everyone else shook their heads. Tippi blinked.

"No? Alright then. It's just that…for a second, I thought I had remembered something very important…"

Before she could elaborate, a tremor broke out across Flipside, indicating that the Void was growing ever larger.

"We need to open up the door to the next world quickly…let's hurry…"

**Flipside 1st Floor-**

"Oh ho…you're back…"

"Yeah, great to see ya Merlon."

"Have you seen the sky lately? The Void continues to grow larger. I imagine that some worlds have already started to decay."

"Yeah, ya think?" Kirby snapped back.

"I wonder how long our dear Flipside will be spared?"

"The Light Prognosticus doesn't say anything about how long we have?" Tippi asked.

"The Light Prognosticus was written to counteract the Dark one…As such, it's not truly prophetic, so it's hard to say how long we have…and yet…I feel confident in saying we do not have much time at all."

"So you're saying that book is a lie! ?" Amy exclaimed. "I think I'm going to faint…"

"Well, we can only go forward now," Tippi continued. "We can't just wait for the worlds to end, can we?"

"Of course you're right, my dear… I received word from Nolrem recently…It seems that someone on the Outskirts of Flopside has spotted a Heart Pillar. As you're no doubt seeking the next Heart Pillar, that is a good place to start."

"Sound like the Flopside version of the Heart Pillar only Peach could reach," Link said thoughtfully.

"I will go back to the Light Prognosticus to look for clues."

"Good for you." "You'd think he'd know the book like the back of his hand by now…"

"Well, apparently Mario, Link, and Peach know where to go," said Eggman. "Lead the way."

"Let's take the pipe that I, Amy, brought with the well-spent money!"

"Just remember, we could have brought cards with that cash."

**Flopside, 2nd Floor-**

"Okay," Link began, preparing to demonstrate. "We stood in front of the elevator, flipped into 3D, and went down a narrow path. To the right was a pipe we had to go down. Then we flipped into 3D, found a different path, and in the right part of those Outskirts was where the second Heart Pillar was. Now, if I'm correct, we do the same thing here, only go to the left instead of the right."

"All right, let's do it then," Samus said, raising her arms and flipping into 3D. Just like in Flipside, Flopside had a giant fence running down the middle of the area, with the space in front of the elevator open. Mario walked through and continued down the thin path to the second floor Outskirts.

"The pipe should be over there," Zelda said, pointing the left. Instead, there was a yellow block, presumable sitting on where the pipe was supposed to be. Amy ran over with Cudge and gave it a prompt smash. Sure enough, the pipe jetted out of the ground where the block once was.

"Good ol' Cudge," she said bubbly, making Cudge fly around happily.

**Down the Pipe-**

Just like before, the group maneuvered through fallen blocks until they reached the middle of Flopside B1, Mario turning into 3D and preparing to do down another path. However, before he moved, he saw that there was a stone statue in their way, and the only way to get by was via a tiny crack underneath it…

Mario flipped back into 2D, snagged Dottie, shrunk with Dottie, made Ganondorf yell at him, and return back to 3D. He easily walked under the crack, returned back to normal size, and went back into 2D.

"Give me her," Ganondorf growled once he popped up next to Mario, snagging his Pixl back. "You could have simply told me you wanted to use her!"

"Easy now, he was just acting quickly on his decisions," Dottie said. "No need to be so scornful."

"But…I…urgh…"

"Anyway," Peach said, interrupting whatever conversation was taking place. "I believe this is where I should take over."

She, Zelda, and Amy climbed onto a block looking over a gap in the Outskirts. Peach flashed out her parasol and floated over with Zelda and Amy right behind her. When they landed on the other side, there was no Heart Pillar, but there was a suspicious-looking cube. Amy started at Cudge, then at the cube.

"You wanna try to hit that, Cudge?"

"I'm up for hitting anything!"

"Good to know," Amy replied, swinging the hammer into the side of the block. Underneath it was a large red button, and upon seeing it made the girl have terrible memories of the one back in the Floro Caverns. It had hardly been that long ago, but it still left a permanent mark. Hesitantly, the three of them stood on it, and thank goodness that the Heart Pillar emerged out of the ground without any problems.

"All right! That's how to do it!" cheered Zelda.

"I wonder why the button was so much harder to push back in the caverns," pondered Amy.

"Beats me."

Meanwhile, Peach took out the Pure Heart that Mario had let her hold and held it up, causing it to float out of her hands and place itself in the Pillar. The Indigo heart was placed carefully, and an Indigo door appeared next to the light blue one back at Flipside Tower.

"'At the Duel of the Hundred, the heroes will meet with dark powers of purest chaos. If you fall to the Hundred, the chaos world grows and the Purity Heart fades and as that happens, the heroes will fall to the world where all games are ended.' That's in the section of the Light Prognosticus that I just deciphered." Nolrem explained, walking up to the heroes somewhat solemnly.

"That's not cool…"

"It seems to suggest that if you fail to pass these 'duels', all worlds will be ruined… and, apparently, your lives would be lost along with the Purity Heart."

"Well that certainly lifts people's spirits!" Samus said sarcastically.

"Yeah, he's starting to sound like Mr. Negativity!" Bowser added, pointing at Ganondorf.

"I know that what I have just shared with you might only serve to discourage you… but I still must send you forth, however. It saddens me that I can do nothing else."

He walked away silently, leaving the heroes with a bad feeling over their heads.

"Hmph, I think I like Merlon better, and that's saying something," huffed Ganondorf.

"Did he really need to make it seem so dramatic?" grumbled Sonic.

"Oh well, we'd better continue on anyway…" Tippi trailed, Mario agreeing and beginning to pull out the Return Pipe.

"B-But we can't go yet! I'm still starving!" Kirby wailed. "I'm going to find Saffron!"

"What! ?" "Kirby, no!" "WAIT!" "It's not worth it!"

Kirby bolted off, floating over the stone statue and running back down the path. The group did their best just to keep up with him (and Sonic was feeling awfully lazy)! He raced back to the pipe, jumping down in it in a pink blur. By the time the group saw him again, he was tearing down the first thin path back to 2nd Floor Flopside.

"Kirby, at least slow down!" Amy pleaded, thinking she was going to trip if she kept running like this.

"Good thing I don't even have to walk," Samus chuckled, floating on Carrie the entire time.

"Think about people who can't even run, LIKE ME!" bellowed Bowser.

"Or Eggman," added Sonic.

"Shut up!"

Sonic summoned Dashell's power, and the group was following Kirby a lot faster than before. When they saw him again, he was running right for…the fortune telling place?

"Kirby, that's _not_ a food place-"

"You're just telling me that so I won't go in!"

When Kirby burst through the doors anyway, ignoring Link trying to tell him he had the wrong place, he was a bit surprised to see Merlee. She looked up from whatever she was doing and put on a puzzled look.

"What in the world-?"

"Hi, lady. Got any grub?"

"Kirby!"

Merlee poked her head around her table, seeing Mario, Link, Sonic, Peach, and Amy walking in…and instantly recognizing the fortune teller. She appeared to be very happy to see them as well.

"Oh my dear friends Mario and Co.! It's been too long, you know."

"Hi Merlee!" chirped Peach and Amy as Link walked over and pulled Kirby away from her.

"Oh, you have fine timing! My blood pressure's climbing! See, I was hoping maybe for you to do me a big favor. Can you, I implore?"

Mario: Only if it's a small one.

"Why not?" shrugged Peach.

"Why not? Because the worlds are falling apart and I need something to eat, pronto!" Kirby cried.

"What the- another detour?" complained Eggman. "You people go way too fast for my blood."

"Must be why you can never beat me," Sonic snickered.

"Thank you, thank you true! I knew I could count on you! During my confusing move, I lost my crystal ball so smooth. I use a replacement now, but it feels wrong somehow. I believe that Merluvlee uses the same type of ball as me…Would you go to her and ask for one of her crystal balls real fast? You know where Merluvlee is, right? Where the outskirts of Flipside are in sight?"

"Basically it's here, only flipped…" Zelda trailed. "But, yeah, I'd assume we know where to find her."

"Thank you! Thank you true!"

And so the group set out to do the unexpected favor for Merlee, not knowing how long the trek could go on for…

**Merluvlee's House-**

"Once again, that blue pipe came in handy."

"Oh, stop boasting about it Amy."

The group had returned to Flipside, going to right of the first floor instead of the left, like in Flopside. That was where Merluvlee resided, and she smiled when the group entered her doors.

Hee hee! Heeheehee hee… I have been waiting, Heroes. You want to ask me about a crystal ball?" Merluvlee asked. A few people looked somewhat surprised. "Oh, there is nothing to fear… I'm Merluvlee! It is my JOB to know the future! Merlee sent you, did she not?"

"Yeah…"

"I have readied said ball. Please, take it." Mario started to take it, but Merluvlee did not give it to him. They stared at each other for several moments until-

Mario: What gives?

"Well, I would love to say that, but there's something I must first ask of you. I know I do not look like it, but I am training. I told someone about it, and they said that they had some useful equipment. But I have been so busy that I have not had the chance to pick it up yet."

"Dude, does anyone even COME here-"

"The kind fellow who offered me the equipment is the Flip Wizard, Bestovius."

Mario groaned upon hearing his name, and Tippi slightly winced as well.

"It would really help me out if you would agree to-" she was cut off by a brief coughing fit. "Excuse me. Would you agree to go to his house and pick it up? If you do that, I will give you this crystal ball."

Mario: …okay.

"Bestovius' house is beyond Flipside Tower's red door, on Lineland Road."

Mario: I remember…

"Thank you for your assistance!" she called out as they headed up to the red door.

"Mario, you need to sop being such a pushover," Bowser stated, as if he was giving some genuinely helpful advice. Mario just stared at him as he prepared to return to Lineland.

**Bestovius' House-**

"So Bestovius is the one who taught you how to teleport?" Samus asked as Mario nodded. They were currently outside his door, but Mario was filling them in on what to expect.

"He sounds pretty impressive!" Amy exclaimed.

"He's impressive, if by impressive you mean a guy who_ charges_ to teach the Hero of the Prophecy…" murmured Tippi.

Mario muttered something under his breath as he led his friends in, locating Bestovius right where he had left him so long ago.

"Ahhhhhh… Hero. What need have you of the blindingly brilliant Bestovius?"

"Please…" groaned Tippi.

"Do you have a Training Machine for Merluvlee? We sort of need it for her," Link asked.

"Hmmm… Yes, I know of such a machine. I bet you know that I would never let you bask in the splendor of my knowledge but, you are heroes!" he laughed.

Then he got an idea, which Mario already had an idea himself of what it probably was.

"I've got a really bad feeling…" lamented Peach.

"Now, heroes, I have a favor to ask you!" Everyone cried out in agony. "I have lent a certain…something to the mayor of Yold Town, Watchitt."

"Oh NO!" Link lurched at the sound of the crazy Old Man's name. Bestovius looked at him strangely as he continued.

"You must retrieve it for me. I have asked for it back many times, but Old Watchitt must treasure it, for he has never returned it. Retrieve this for me, Bestovius, and I shall grant you the Training Machine."

"And what is this something, pray tell?"

"Simply ask for the 'You-Know-What.' He shall understand. Now, begone!"

"I don't wanna go back Mario," Link whispered faintly.

Mario: Neither do I.

**Old Man Watchitt's House-**

"This is where Mario found me," Link explained, standing on the doorstep after they had made their way through Lineland Road and Mt. Lineland, finally reaching Yold Town. "Ah, memories…good times."

"Link, it wasn't THAT long ago…" Tippi trailed.

"It feels like forever!" he protested, kicking the door open and walking inside. There was Old Man Watchitt, in the flesh, standing on his green rug watching things.

"Hey, you there…WATCH IT! I was just looking for you! Need you to do something."

"Not again…"

"…What? You WATCH IT! Don't you give me that 'not again' look! DUMPLINGS! You listen to me now, y'hear! Open those ears before I box 'em!"

"You see what I mean?" Link sighed, shaking his head.

"So here's the thing. This strange lady showed up in my dreams and talked on and on about something. I don't know what, but she needed help with something. She looked real regal like in her blue outfit. And really ancient."

"Sounds like Merlumina…" Tippi gasped.

"Watch it! I don't know what her deal is, but she needs to get outta my dreams. So get off my rug and help her out! Maybe then she'll quit flappin' her lip. If you put a sock in her trap, I'll give you whatever you want."

"A little…rough way to put it, but fine."

"Oh! I almost forgot," he pulled out a piece of blank paper, "I gotta give you this. She's been in my dreams so long, I guess I've become a fan of sorts. So go get her to sign this! Then you know what you can do? Get off of my rug and watch it."

The group couldn't have gotten out any faster.

**Merlumina's Chamber-**

"This is the place where we got the Orange Pure Heart after defeating Fracktail!" Link explained, walking down the stairs.

"So where's the ghostly Merlumina chick?" Bowser wanted to know. Mario held up a hand for him to be patient, and within seconds, her voice was heard.

"Ahh, Heroes…so you have come to me?" Merlumina then appeared in her place toward the ceiling, in all her shining blue glory. She began to descend to them. "It is I, Merlumina.""It is a pleasure to meet you again, heroes."

"What're you still doing here?" Link asked.

"Well, I had been sleeping for 1,500 years, waiting to give you the Pure Heart…having done that, I decided I might enjoy a quick nap."

Mario felt a quick nap for himself coming on.

"But…I couldn't sleep. Perhaps it was because I had just slept so long. But even after I sat in bed and read for a bit, I still wasn't sleepy…"

Merlumina continued to say more, talking about how she sent her frustration to someone on Yold Town with the Ancients' blood, but her voice was so peaceful that it caused everyone to fall asleep while she talked about why_ she _couldn't.

"…So as I was saying, I absolutely couldn't get to sleep at all!" She finally noticed them all snoring and said, "Hey. Are you sleeping? !"

They all instantly snapped awake, Mario giving her and innocent grin that she wasn't buying.

"People are suffering from a severe lack of sleep here…doesn't that tug on your heart? No one in this millennium has any sense of compassion! …ahem. Back to what I was saying…I was trying to vent out my frustration with some telepathic pranks…but the person receiving the pranks was hard of hearing, so it barely worked…That only made me more sad…"

They all slowly began to drown off once more, barely catching small snippets of whatever Merlumina was saying.

"…And that's when dozens of people thronged to this place to say their last farewells. And their voices were the lullaby that put me to sleep for 1500 years."

Apparently her voice was the lullaby for the group.

"But now nobody is here, I'm all alone, and I can't get to sleep. It's so lonely! It's just terrible! I can't stand it!"

When she received no sympathetic response, she was furious. The sudden change of tone in her voice was enough to wake them all up again.

"And…you're sleeping again! I can't believe you. Honestly… I'm practically wringing my heart out to you and you… you… you just… HMMMPH! …Hmm?" she yawned. "All this talking is making me a little drowsy."

"Oh really? Great."

"And since you've been here, I haven't felt so lonely. Maybe I can get back to sleep now! Was that your plan all along? Brilliant thinking!" She started to fade away as Mario quickly pulled out the piece of paper Watchitt gave him.

Mario: Hold on!

"What is it? Why are you bothering me now of all times? I'm about to go back to sleep and you just stand there wanting me to talk more!"

"Some guy wanted your autograph," said Samus.

"Really? Why, certainly! Just hand me that paper." Mario did so and she whipped out a pen, as if she was prepared just for this occasion.

"Let's see… I know! 'You're always in my heart! Signed, the fantabulous Merlumina.' And…done! Oh, and let's put a little kiss on the end there…Mwwwwwah! " She handed the paper back to Mario, putting it safely in his pocket. "There we go. How's that?"

"Fantastic."

"Good to hear… and…thank you…heroes…" she slowly faded into her slumber, leaving the heroes surround by the tranquility of her room before they officially took their leave.

_"Please…take good care …of this world…Good…night…"_

**Back at Watchitt's-**

"Hopefully we can go in and get out with no strings attached," Zelda hoped as they returned to the old man.

"Hey, you there! That lady up and left my dreams! I can't…WATCH IT! She's not there. And ya can't watch what ya can't watch. It was bad enough to hear her wailing on, but it's worse to see her disappear! I've got nothin' else to live for in my life! Even whupping folks with my cane has gotten old!"

"Well, then, have this paper to cherish for what little you have left of you life," Ganondorf said as Mario handed it to him.

"Is this…her autograph? Just look at those curlicues and swoopdedoos in her handwriting! I'm more flustered than the time I dropped a hot griddle in my grunders!"

"Say what? !" "I don't think I wanna know…"

"DUMPLINGS! Where was I? Oh, I owe you for helping her. You can take anything I own except my rug."

"How about the You-Know-What? Sonic suggested.

"EH? YOU WANT THAT? Whoever told you about that better WATCH IT!"

"It was Bestovius…you know, because it belongs to him?" Link pointed out.

"Doesn't make a whisker of sense. Why'd he ask someone else to get it for him? Fine then. Take it. But you better WATCH IT !" He handed Mario an object that pretty much looked like a CD.

"That's my cousin… He must have lots of fancy-dancy, hibbly-jibbly wizard hobbies. But…nothing means more to me than Merlumina…Crazy, saying that out loud…say hello to Bestovius for me! And whup him with a cane or a newspaper of something!"

They left once again before he told them to watch it.

**Back at Bestovius-**

"Mmmm… So the Heroes return. Did you get the 'You-Know-What' from Watchitt?"

Mario nodded and practically tossed the disc at him. Bestovius smiled.

"You have it! This pleases Bestovius greatly! 'Tis such a collector's item. I was worried that Watchitt lost it. I'm so relieved."

"Training Machine, please?"

"Oh, yes, of course! You seek the Training Machine. Of course I remember! Such little faith. Take it, Heroes. It would only disturb my sublime energies." He handed them a machine that had an uncanny resemblance to the original "Nintendo DS".

"I, Bestovius, used it once, but upgraded to the newer, sleeker model. I no longer require it's services. You had better give that to Merluvlee! And send along greetings from Bestovius!"

"And to think that there's probably even more sleeker models now."

"His loss."

**Merluvlee's Place-**

"Finally making progress…"

"This better be worth it in the end…"

"Did you pick up my equipment for me?" Mario pulled it out and gave it to her. "This is it! This is it! Now I can train to my heart's content!"

"How exactly do you train with that?"

"Which body part can I work with this, you mean? Well, my brain, of course! I've already trained every other part of my body, so that just leaves my head."

Silence.

"That was so nice of you! Thank you so very much! Well then, as promise, here is your gift." Mario claimed the sought-after crystal ball, sighing in relief. They just had to give it to Merlee now… "There will be no charge, but tell her this: 'Now we're even.' On that note, take care!"

**Merlee's Place-**

"Hallelujah!"

"Did you get a ball for me? Do I thank you, golly, gee?" Mario took the ball out and handed it to her, almost a little too eagerly. Merlee just about jumped for joy upon seeing it. "That's it! That's the one! Ahhhhh… Oh, well done! Thank you! Thanks a ton!"

…now what?

"Well then, let's see, now… I must thank you somehow… I guess that there's only one thing I can do for you, hon…"One charm for you! Woo hoo! If you want a charm on someone, cross the counter and talk to me, hon."

"What? ! How lame!" roared Bowser.

"What a rip off!"

"So much for worth it in the end…"

Merlee looked upset. "Hm? What's this I see on you? You look angry? Or blue? A charm from me is just not enough? Kids these days! Ungrateful stuff! Fine! I would be remiss if I did not give you this!" She handed Zelda, who was standing the closest to her, an old burnt orange key.

"Once there was an explorer. A charm I cast with a purr…He gave me this, yes sir! I do not know what it unlocks. I bet it's handy, by my socks. You can have it. It rocks! Well now, 'bye, and how!"

The group all just stared at the disappointing looking key as they left Merlee.

**Flopside Ground Floor, Back Part-**

"I can't believe we wasted all that time and only got a key in return!" grunted Kirby, chugging down a Super Shroom Shake he obtained from the shop in Flopside, sufficing his hunger.

"Hey, who knows what this key might unlock?" Zelda pointed out, tossing it around in her hands.

"I think it unlocks that building over there," Sonic said, motioning over to the locked building next to the path to Mirror Hall. Zelda darted over, her dress blowing with the aftermath of her swiftness as he she placed the old key in the lock. It instantly clicked, and it fell to the ground. Mario walked over and pushed the door open.

The only thing that resided inside was a large brown chest.

"Hey, maybe it's that Upgrade we've been waiting for!" Link cheered.

"Don't count on it," Peach stated, placing her hand on the chest and throwing it open. She jumped from surprise as a music note-shaped Pixl fluttered out, looking incredibly energetic.

"DOODLY-DOO! The bird, it warbles, TWEET! The bug, it cries, CHEEP! The frog, RRRRRRIBBIT! The dog, GRRRRRROWF! Goats and cars, BLEEEET! All things sing, you see. To live is to make music!" she sang.

"It's a Pixl!" Zelda cried excitedly, clasping her hands together.

"Oh yeah, because that's a real treat," grunted Eggman.

"I saw it coming," Samus said bluntly.

"Why thank you! My words… Could it be… I've said something poetic? Could it truly be?"

"And you are…?" Tippi asked.

"I am Piccolo! Your footsteps sang to me! CLOP! CLOP! And over again! Yet those sounds are not your everything, your all, your essence! Nope! I'll show you why!"

She spun excitedly around Zelda, a soft sound playing as she did. Zelda grinned as she held Piccolo in her hands.

"I know you're a music note…but what is it exactly that you do?"

"Use me to hear sound that matches your character… POCCOLO-COLO! The beat of your spirit… I will find it and play it for you!"

"Play mine! Play mine!"

Piccolo nodded and closed her eyes, searching through Zelda's spirit. She suddenly burst out in a song that Zelda instantly recognized.

"Hey…you're playing my lullaby…" she said, obviously stunned. Piccolo looked proud.

"Yup! And it's a pretty tune as well! Not only that, but I can heal you guys with the power of my music too!"

"How dandy- can we go to the next world now?" Ganondorf asked.

"Yeah, this was all pretty much a let down," trailed Bowser. Zelda shook her head.

"No, we did all this for Piccolo…and whether you like her or not, I think it was worth the trip."

"Okay then, Zelda," Link said, putting an arm over her shoulders as Mario pulled out the Return Pipe.

**Flipside Tower-**

"Okay, I give you kudos for at least warning us that time."

Mario: *grins*

"Well, let's go see what torture is up next for us…"

Mario nodded and walked toward the Indio door, getting sort of a bad vibe from it. Shaking the feeling off, however, he threw the doors opened and walking into the next world.

. . .

Under the looming shadow of the Void, the worlds slowly drifted toward demise. But not all hope was lost: two Pure Hearts had yet to be found. Could our daring heroes find them? Or were the worlds doomed to be devoured? Teams Mario, ZAP, and BEG ventured through the next door to find out…

* * *

**Hooray, Chapter 6! There's one long chapter, and then the following ones are rather short...but definitely interesting. 'Specially da Boss Chapter. 8)**


	39. Sammer Guy Showdown

Super Paper Mario X

Chapter 38: Sammer Guy Showdown

When the gang entered the next world, they realized it had an Oriental flair to it. But they weren't interested in the landscape- just the frightening sight in the sky…

"Look at that…" Tippi gaped, gawking at the Void. "It's enormous here…much bigger than it is in Flipside…this dimension must be very close to destruction…"

"That's what the Void looked like before my world was destroyed…" Kirby said silently, now gripping his Vivian plushie for comfort. "This place won't last much longer by the looks of it…"

"We've got to get the Pure Heart before this world is devastated as well…" Samus trailed, clenching her fist.

"Maybe we'll be able to prevent it from being destroyed if we do!" Peach exclaimed. Kirby just shook his head.

"I wouldn't bet on it…"

Mario continued on, despite the darkness in the sky threatening to consume them all. He led his friends over a bridge built over a small river, bypassing a sign that said "To King Sammer's Palace".

_"…'At the Duel of the Hundred, the heroes will meet with dark powers of purest chaos. If you fall to the Hundred, the chaos world grows and the Purity Heart fades and as that happens, the heroes will fall to the world where all games are ended'…"_

The words of Nolrem unsettled Mario- if he wanted to decipher what the cryptic message meant, then that meant if they were beaten by the Hundred, the world would be destroyed by the Void, the Purity Heart wouldn't be able to be completed, and all their lives would be lost…

Very scary thought.

**Gate 1-**

"I YIELD!" shouted a large-bearded man, running away from what was apparently a fight. He ran straight to the door that the gang just emerged from, obviously up in a frenzy. "I AM SHAMED!"

"Ahhhh…so you run, coward. You disgrace your family's honor," a small fighter in green snickered. "Another unworthy opponent…when will this "hero" of legend appear?"

"Right now," Link said, climbed up to the guy along with everyone else. Apparently he didn't hear him.

"Time is running out, and still he refuses to show his face!"

"Maybe we can sneak by him-"

"You stop now!" the fighter snapped, suddenly seeing the large group of people standing before him. "You wear the clothes of a crazy. You must be, if you mean to challenge me!"

"Bwahahahaha! Challenger? ! All I'd have to do is sit on you and I could wear you like a hat!" Bowser scoffed.

"Aha. So it begins, challenger. I am known as Jade Blooper, guardian of the 1st gate. Prepare for game over! HAAAAWCHAAW!"

Bowser jumped on him with Thudley and he was toast.

"No more, I beg you! Your power is great, challenger."

"Can I wear you as a hat now?"

Jade Blooper stood back up and gave a small bow. "Your skills are impressive. So the heroes of legend have finally revealed themselves…you may go to the next gate."

"What…"next gate"? What is going on here…?"

"OH, SPLENDID!"

A king-looking guy suddenly appeared on the scene, looking eagerly at the heroes.

"Oh ho! What a performance! And what exotic garb you drape yourselves in, challengers!" he rushed up to the group, still awfully excited. "What a rousing spectacle of martial artistry!"

"He just sat on the guy-"

"I don't know you who think you are, but I've got a rousing spectacle for your face!"

"Gee, Bowser is better at burns than Link is."

"What is that supposed to mean? !"

"INSOLENCE!" shouted Jade Blooper. "Show respect, dog! You stand before King Sammer, ruler of the Sammer Guys!"

"Your unusual fighting style brings me amusement to no end! As reward for your victory, I shall allow a glimpse of my treasure…Behold!"

He held up the purple Pure Heart, and Kirby just about tackled him to the ground, trying to claim the Heart for himself.

"Give us that thing or you're DOOMED, man!"

"That is so not the right approach!"

"The Pure Heart? !" Tippi just about croaked in disbelief. King Sammer pushed Kirby away and nodded to the rainbow butterfly.

"Indeed, it is the pride of the Kingdom! If you desire it, prove your worth by defeating my vassals in a tournament!"

"A showdown? ! Ooh, is there gonna be a steel cage?"

"In our kingdom, there is a legend that had been passed down through generations. 'When a great hole appears in the sky, the world will soon be devoured.' The tempest in the sky grows larger by the day. It must be stopped!"

The group already knew that, needless to say. The constant reminders were just making them even more anxious to save the world by beating up Bleck.

"But the legend goes on…" King Sammer continued. "And so I shall continue a very dramatic reading…ahem. "Only one thing can stop The Void: the great hero must be given the Pure Heart."

"So give us the Heart already!" Amy cried. Sammer shook his head.

"VASSALS, TO ME!"

Heeding the cue, the other 99 Sammer Guys arrived at the first gate, and the crew suddenly felt claustrophobic thanks to the rainbow of samurais in their presence.

"These are my vassals. Should you beat them all, you will prove you are the true heroes. Yes, I shall reward you with a Pure Heart if you best my other 99 Sammer Guys!"

"Begone, Sammer Guys, and move to your tournament positions!" ordered Jade Blooper. The group whined as they all stampeded back to the posts. King Sammer acted as if this wasn't a big deal at all.

"You can't even stoop to just fifty Sammer Guys?" cringed Peach.

"I'm sure I'll be on the edge of my throne throughout this thrilling tournament! I will await your arrival at the palace. The tournament has begun…let skill decide!"

And he departed as well.

"Do you realize how bad the odds are right now?" Kirby winced. "If we don't get that Pure Heart before this world is devoured, the new definition for us is screwed!"

"You'd better get started. You have a lot of fighting to do…"

"Thanks for making it obvious, Tippi. Just thanks."

Mario wearily trudged toward the first gate, really not looking forward to whatever lie ahead. This was going to be annoying, he could already tell.

**Gate 2-**

Through the next gate was a fighter that resembled the one of the first gate, only lacking the long brown mustache.

"I SEE YOU! Look upon Hill with Eyes, keeper of the second gate! You run along the earth, attacking immobile blocks…AND I SEE YOU! You leap above deep pits, dodging wandering beasts…AND I WATCH YOU! Soon you will fall in battle by my merciless hand…AND I LAUGH AT YOU!"

"I say we take turn fighting these guys just so we don't get bored," Samus suggested.

"Good idea; who's going this time?" Zelda asked.

"I'll do it!" cried Sonic, rushing over with the speed of Dashell and slamming into Hill with Eyes. The Sammer Guy didn't know what hit him, and still didn't when Sonic continued his assault with spin dashes, punches, and the finishing move of a well-placed kick. Hill with Eyes went skidding along the ground before yelling, "Ow…Right in the eye!"

He stood back up and bowed to Sonic. "You did not wither beneath my cold, unflinching stare…And so I am defeated…but defeat and victory are meaningless to one such as I. I will remain in the distance, waiting without remorse and…ALWAYS WATCHING!"

"See? These guys will be a piece of cake!" Sonic laughed.

"Yeah, they're only easy now because we're at the start!" Ganondorf exclaimed.

"That bearded guy who ran off must have been a total wimp though," Bowser sneered as he exited through the second gate.

**Gate 3-**

"An opponent blows in…my name floats like an ill wind, for I am Puffing Fist, guardian of the third gate!" announced a blue Sammer Guy with a darker brown mustache. "I can send the mightiest opponent to his doom with a single strike! Pwwaaang!"

"Hmph, so can I," smirked Ganondorf, kicking the Sammer Guy harshly with his purple glowing foot. The Sammer Guy went wailing into the air, landing in a tree.

"Noo…it was you who has dealt the pwaanging…I have failed the ancient Pwaaanging traditions! Mt strike lacks puff. I must go and train at the cloud temple. I will use my remaining vacation days."

"It won't change the fact that you're a cream PUFF! Heh, get it?"

"Good one Link."

"REALLY! ?"

"…sure."

"Yay!"

**Gate 4-**

Beyond the third gate was a green Sammer Guy who lacked a mustache and had a spiky club instead of a sword.

"Soon, challenger, you will scream in terror at the name of the FLIGHTLESS BIRD!"

"It doesn't really seem like a name worth screaming to," shrugged Kirby.

"Now you will know the fury of the most deadly fighting style. Birdo…SQUAT!"

Before Flightless Bird could even touch Kirby, Kirby had smacked the foe with his mallet. While he was busy fighting him, Mario noticed a ninja-looking creature suddenly jump onto the battle area.

"That's a Ninjoe…" Tippi said, once Peach pointed at it to figure out what it was. "It'll throw ninja stars at you while you're battling and is very quick…"

Eggman stunned it with Fleep, then Bowser burned it. It certainly wasn't a threat anymore!

Meanwhile, Kirby pretty much had the battle in the bag, just like the previous ones. Flightless Bird went in for a strike with his weapon, but Kirby used Barry and superguarded him at the last second, doing a final blow with the counter attack.

"SQUAWWWK! The egg of my defeat burns hot on my face…I bow to your skill. Birdo be with you, challenger!"

"Nah…I'm not too big a fan of Birdo," Kirby said while bouncing off toward the fourth gate.

**Gate 5-**

The Guy of Gate Five was probably the most complex one yet- he was green, had a mustache, had a sword, and had a spike on his helmet.

"Tell me, challenger, have you ever tried to catch a jumping fish with your bare hands? You will know the frustration soon, for I am Leeping Cheep, keeper of the 5th gate!"

"I can't believe we're only on the 5th gate…" groaned Link.

"Who wants to fight the Cheep guy?"

"I will!" Amy decided, practically skipping up to him. He readied his sword and leapt at Amy, living up to his name. Amy curled up into a ball and hardened her quills, leaving the Guy's attacks ineffective. Once she sprung out of her protection, she summoned Cudge's hammer magic and attacked Leeping Cheep. He certainly felt the swing of her hammer, and once was all it took to get him to fall over.

"but…that's so cheeeeeeep! Your skill is strong. If only my flying, fishy friends had leapt to my aid when I called out for them…"

Amy just blinked.

"Leeping Cheep is cheap."

"Aw well, good job Amy!" chirped Cudge. "That was…AWESOME!"

Amy smiled lightly. "Thanks, Cudge!"

"Enough with the formalities, we still have 95 gates to go!" groaned Zelda as they went through the fifth gate.

**Gate 6-**

"Before we fight, consider this haiku…" trailed a simple green Sammer Guy. "A challenger comes…Under the darkening sky…Wiggity wiggle…Master Wiggler wiggles in defense of the sixth gate…WIGGLE WIGGLE WIGGLE!"

Zelda blasted Master Wiggler with a frighteningly powerful Din's Fire and scorched the guy before the fight had even really started.

"Wiggoooort! Before you leave…contemplate this haiku…The Challenger came…now my face wiggles in pain…Wiggle wiggle wig…Wiggle on, Warrior, wiggle on…

"You think we're over killing these guys?"

"We're just too much for them."

**Gate 7-**

Yet another green Sammer Guy awaited them, this one with a white mustache and a weapon like the fourth Sammer Guy. Mario decided he would fight this one.

"STOMPOW! I am Shoe of Kuribo! I protect the 7th gate! STOMPOW! Some try to tiptoe past me like little fancy slippers! I stomp them! STOMPOW! Shoe stomps all! STOMPOW! Shoe of Kuribo will tread on you! STOMPOW!

Mario: I stomp you.

He grabbed Shoe of Kuribo with Thoreau and threw him to the ground. Mario then jumped, or stomped, on him several times until the Sammer Guy cried out with: "STOMPOWED!"

"Total ownage!" cheered Thoreau.

"Stompow…I am stomped…You crushow my stompow...You boot shoe! STOMPOW!"

Mario (unintentionally) stepped on Shoe of Kuribo's foot on his way out the 7th gate.

**Gate 8-**

"Heh, Gate Eight- it rhymes!" chuckled Link.

"Please focus on not getting destroyed…" Zelda moaned.

"Psh, get destroyed? This place practically hands you the victory!"

"YOU FRY NOW!" shouted the blue Sammer Guy similar to the one Mario fought. "I am Guy Who Fry, master of Dripping Magma Punch, guard of the 8th gate."

Link snickered to himself.

"I see your eyes burn with purpose. Will I torch you today? Or will your burning desire to win extinguish me? I say…YOU FRY NOW!"

"And I say… YOU GO BOOM!"

Guy Who Fry made the wrong mistake of freezing with shock as Link threw Boomer at him. The Pixl's explosion did decent damage to him and Link added to the attack with two slashes of his sword. A Ninjoe ran across the battle area again, which Peach took care of by kicking it out of the way. Meanwhile, Guy Who Fry hit Link on the wrist, making Link wince and throw Boomer once again. Guy Who Fry got blasted rather than fried.

"It is I who fry today…I am like a sad pail of discarded grease…go now and fry some Sammer Guys in memory of Guy Who Fry!"

"Um…I'll try?" Link laughed nervously.

"Oh hey, that rhymed too!" chortled Zelda. Link made a face.

"Hmph, I see the irony, thanks for pointing it out!"

Zelda grinned at him as he passed through the eighth gate.

**Gate 9-**

"The shrill shriek of the SCREAAAAMING MANTISSSS paralyzes you at gate nine!" screeched the next opponent. "You are motionless with fear! Now I prey on your face! YEZZZZZK!"

"Well, you're right about how I don't even have to move," Samus laughed, firing a single missile at SCREAAAAMING MANTISSSS. As it made contact with him, the Sammer Guy lived up to his name by screaming as the power of the missile just about did him in.

"Screaming Mantis' throat grows hoarse…Screaming Mantis requires a lozenge…"

"Sorry guy, I'm not a first aid kid…" Samus commented, leaving him at the ninth gate.

**Gate 10-**

The group had made it past the nine other battles, so Mario declared it as an achievement that they managed to make it to ten. However, upon sight of massive blue sumo-like Sammer Guy, Mario gained a feeling that every tenth battle was going to be 'fun'.

"And so you come at last…" he rumbled, tapping his large sword in the palm of his round hand. "…like a young bloom poking through an early spring snow. I am called Koopa in Winter. I wait, immobile, by the tenth gate. The plant that blooms early freezes and perishes…and so, too, shall you!"

"Welp, Bowser, looks like it's your turn to go!" Kirby exclaimed as the rest of them stood clear out of the way. Bowser just shook his head.

"What a bunch of-"

Koopa in Winter clonked down on Bowser's head with his massive sword, making the Koopa King start to stumble around.

"Quick, Peach! Give him some encouragement!" Zelda suggested.

"Yeah, then he'll be fueled by his love for you!" snickered Amy, and she and Zelda slapped a high five. Peach blushed furiously, more at the fact of how that usually did the trick rather than Peach's actual doing it.

"…c'mon Bowser! You're no pushover!"

As predicted, Bowser shook off the heavy blow and aimed his flames and Koopa in Winter.

"Hopefully this'll melt your snow!"

Mario: *face palm*

Bowser hit the brute two other times, and thanks to his increased attack strength, made quick work of Koopa in Winter.

"N-N-N-Nooooo…the cold sun of winter has set upon my soul…it made you bloom this day, but beware… the ice and snow know no allegiance. They will consume you too!"

"Yeah, great to know, Winter-boy," Bowser snorted, stalking toward the tenth gate. "We've got lives to save! And by that, I mean ours."

"You can't do anything out of the good of your heart, can you?" Peach moaned, following after him.

**Gate 11-**

Through the eleventh gate was the foe Eggman would be battling- a blue Sammer Guy with a spike and a dark brown mustache.

"The 11th gate…a place of power. And here you find Footsteps of Coins! Tell me, warrior, do you walk with you eyes open? Do you see many coins? Coins in blocks, coins in clouds…everywhere there are coins glittering."

"Yeah, Link, they're everywhere!" Amy pointed out.

"Stop getting on my case about the coins! If anything, Mario should be the one that knows about all that!"

Mario: Uh-huh!

"It is I who leaves them. It is I who wanders the wide world, coins falling from my heels. Does this mean others should pick up my coins? OF COURSE NOT!"

"Yeah, Amy, of course not!" Link mocked back. Amy just put her hand on her hips as Eggman simply pulled out his laser gun and started zapping Footsteps of Coins.

"The coins are mine alone! And now, I will make change of YOU! CHA-CHING!" he continued to shout, trying to get to Eggman while avoiding the lasers. Eggman just scoffed.

"Ha! At this rate, it looks like I'm cashing _you_ in!"

"Wow, everyone's jumping on the pun wagon today..." muttered Ganondorf.

"I think we should flip a coin-" "There's another!" "-to see who's worse at making jokes- Link or BEG," Sonic said.

"Link all the way," everyone mumbled in unison.

"I feel so loved. Thanks guys!"

Kirby instantly latched onto Link's back in a hug. "I appreciate you, even if you're a terrible joke teller!"

"And sometimes your jokes are entertaining," Zelda said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "They could just stand to be better…well, more often."

Eggman hit Footsteps of Coins one last time, defeating yet another simple Sammer Guy.

"I'm broke! My wealth was in my battle skills, and you have robbed me of them. My poverty of spirit is now matched by my empty pockets. And now I am faced with…NO! A loan from Mother! She will frown upon me! I would rather sell my weapons!"

"So...many...puns…"

"For the record, I didn't see any coins fall from his feet."

**Gate 12-**

"So you challenge your skill in the Duel of 100? I am the guardian on the 12th gate…Urchin Lung. Hah hah. So…you must be wondering, "How many more of these guys must we fight?" FOOL! There are 88 more of us! Does your resolve falter? Do you have what it takes? It is a relentless marathon of martial artistry! Now, come at me!"

Peach was unusually silent, as it was her turn to face a foe. Urchin Kung readied himself, performing false moves in front of Peach to coax her into fighting. When he really did start to hit her, Peach pulled into her parasol to protect herself. Urchin Lung growled and started banging on the umbrella with his sword.

"Come on out and fight, you coward!" he bellowed, trying to attack the girl within. Peach cringed under her umbrella.

"…"

She pulled out of her umbrella after what seemed like ages, her back turned to Urchin Lung. The Sammer Guy saw his chance to strike and ran in…to Peach's parasol. She then furiously whirled around and struck him with her object again, then jumped into the air and landed on his head. He started whimpering out in pain, and Peach put on a bemused look.

"Who's the coward now?"

"Augh! Uh…a cramp! I yield!"

Peach hopped off of the guy and gave him a look as he stood back up, grabbing his head.

"Ha ha. So you are not a slacker after all, fresh challenger…You may have the stamina to defeat us all. If perhaps you will get a side ache!"

"The only side ache I've had so far was you," she said somewhat coolly, trotting down the steps and through the next gate.

**Gate 13-**

In the thirteenth gate was a red Sammer Guy with a pointy mustache, a white helmet, and a blue sword. He seemed slightly tougher than the previous guys, and that was saying something. Amy, Kirby, and Ganondorf did Rock, Paper, Scissors to determine who would defeat him, and Ganondorf won.

"KA-KAW! I will feast on the delicious flavor of your defeat! I am Crow Who Eats, guardian of the 13th Gate! I will make many meals from your shame! KAAAAAKAAW!"

"Yeah? And you can EAT THIS!" the Dark Lord boomed, punching Crow Who Eats right in the face. Kirby cringed and looked away.

"Ooh, that had to hurt."

Crow Who Eats was mad that he didn't get to use his sword's beam-throwing power, but he was too in pain from the hard punch to even complain.

"Kaaaaaaaw…kaaaaw…kaw…Cruel irony…now it is I who must eat crow…"

"Irony is a foul mistress."

"Who at times can prove to be very annoying."

"I bet she thinks that of you too."

"See? ! There's irony again!"

**Gate 14-**

The guy at Gate 14 was stacked- he had a spike on his head, a spiky club on a stick, and a charming silver mustache with a goatee combo. Kirby wanted to fight him too.

"Hewwo, pwaything! I am Swollen Tongue, master of the 14th gate…flear me! You shall not gas! Wait, I mean gwass! I mean…P-ASS! Oh, who cares! Lettuce fight! Gah!"

"I bet you had your tongue swollen in a fight like this one," Kirby thought as he swallowed the guy. When Kirby spat him back out, he gained a spiked green helmet, Swollen Tongue's weapon, and his mustache and goatee. Swollen tongue saw he was probably in for it and started to run. Kirby chased after him, battering him on the head whenever he could.

"OWTH! I bit my tongue!"

"Double pain! Woo!"

Kirby continued to beat on Swollen Tongue like a drum until the fighter gave in.

"Glaab…I have been fit! I mean…HIT! I wish I was more fit…"

"Wienie!"

Swollen Tongue just started at Kirby. "So…had enough, have you? Buy now! I mean, BYE!"

"Bye! Thanks for the ability! …and this awesome 'stache!"

**Gate 15-**

"The foe you face next is Slipping Grip, fearless guardian of the 15th gate. I am a new student of the Sweaty Palm Martial Arts Academy…but I recently passed my Slapotology exam with the highest marks! Now it is you who reap the benefits of my industrious note taking!"

"Oh really?" snickered Bowser, jumped over his head and defeating him like he had done with the first Sammer Guy. "Slap that!"

"Grip…slipping…I bring shame upon the Sweaty Palm Martial Arts Academy! But you will be no match for my brothers! Their palms wield the fury of the winds!"

"I'm pretty sure your brothers are just as talented as you are…and remember, you barely have any talent to begin with."

**Gate 16-**

"Alright, so who's up next on Link's menu for slicing?"

"So you have defeated my brother…I am the second most famous student of the Sweaty Palm Martial Arts Academy…you have no doubt seen me in the academy newsletter. I am Clammy Hand. Guarding the 16th gate is my senior project. I WILL NOT FAIL!"

"My project is preventing the worlds from decaying, and I have no plans to fail on THAT."

Link discombobulated Clammy Hand by hitting him with his shield, then going crazy with his sword. It only took four swings to beat him.

"The world…grows clammy…so…clammy…Do not think this is done. You must face my other brother next! He got expelled for studying the Wicked Palm of a Thousand Sweats!"

"I'm pretty sure you're three of a kind- all easy to defeat."

**Gate 17-**

Sonic did a few stretches to prepare himself for the battle, finally stopping when he struck a crouching battle post. The third Academy brother stared him down with unforgiving eyes.

"I am Forbidden Slap, former top student of the Sweaty Palms Martial Arts Academy…but I was expelled for learning forbidden slapping techniques from dark tomes."

"If you're such a great slapper, why do you have a sword-?"

"Now I wield history's most feared and reviled sword slaps!"

"…spoke too soon…again…apparently my mouth is as fast as I am…"

Forbidden Slap came running at Sonic, his sword flying around in a blur. Sonic back flipped out of the way, landing with one leg bent and the other outstretched. When Forbidden Slap came close enough, Sonic swung his leg around to perform a sweep kick. The Sammer Guy was knocked right off his feet and onto his back, becoming a perfect target for a Spin Dash from his opponent.

"The Forbidden Slap yields…"

"Aw, over already? Oh well."

"You have defeated the three star pupils of the Sweaty Palm Martial Arts Academy…"

"Brother!" Slipping Grip cried, jumping out of nowhere.

"Brother, are you hurt?" Clammy Hand asked, showing up as well. Forbidden Slap turned around and nearly fell over.

"Slipping Grip! Clammy Hand! Why are you here? Why have you left your gates?"

"We were worried about you…" Slipping Grip explained.

"Brother," Clammy Hand began. "Return to the Academy…they will take you back…"

"Yes, let us return to the academy and earn an advanced Sweaty Palm belt…Perhaps they will forgive my selfish quest for dark slapping power…" Forbidden Grip glanced at the heroes. "As for you…You may pass!"

Slipping Grip nodded. "You have beaten us! Now go on and shame the rest like you have shammed us…"

"May the martial arts spirits grant you luck! Onward to glory!" added Clammy Hand before he and his younger brother returned to their respective gates.

"Aw, what a happy ending," Amy sighed.

"Pure brotherly right there!" Kirby sniffled.

Mario frowned slightly and headed for the seventeenth gate. He wished he knew where **his** brother was…

**Gate 18-**

A tiny fighter was up next, and the entire group snickered at his small size.

"Heh, look at that one little guy over there!" Link chuckled.

"Come closer! I am just a harmless leaf on the trimmed lawn of the 18th gate…HAAAAACH! No! I am Hairy Arantula in the Grass! I leap on you head and bite on you ear lobe! HAAAACH!"

"Hairy Arantula in the Grass, huh?" Samus snickered. "Big name for such a little guy…"

"Be quiet and stop being so tall so I can mess up your face! Fight me, giant!"

Samus aimed her cannon at the little guy, everyone turning away, not daring to see the poor Sammer Guy's fate. A loud BOOM echoed throughout the kingdom, and the group silently inched toward the 18th gate.

"Your earlobe…it is like IRON! I skitter away…"

**Gate 19-**

"Stoic and impenetrable, Another Castle stands vigil over the 19th gate…"

"Another Castle? What kind of a name is that?" Amy contemplated while shaking her head.

"Worst fighting name ever!" declared Bowser.

"Except for The Missing Link…such terrible memories…" Link shivered.

"Nuh-uh! That was funny," Sonic protested with a laugh.

"Many challengers attempt to lay siege to me. All leave in tears. Tire yourself all you like pummeling my stony abdomen…I WILL NOT FALL!"

Mario just rolled his eyes and ran at Another Castle, ready to spring on his head. The Sammer Guy was very evasive, as he constantly backpedaled whenever Mario went in to strike. However, he made the big mistake of walking backwards into Amy.

"Heads up, Mario."

Mario: Okay!

Before Another Castle knew it, Amy had struck him with her pixl-made hammer, sending the runner right back to Mario. Mario was ready with Thoreau. He threw the Pixl, grabbed his rival, then spun around and threw him right back at Amy. Another Castle braced for impact and Amy swung at him again, hitting him right in the face.

It was super effective.

"Walls…falling…Well done…but your prize is in another castle…Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha."

Mario was not amused.

"Nineteen gates down…" sighed Kirby.

"Such a long way to go…" Zelda moaned.

**Gate 20-**

Just like at the tenth gate, there was a larger, sumo-like Sammer Guy. The odd thing was…this one looked exactly like Koopa in Winter, and Mario questioned if they were the same or not.

"SMOOSH! TO ROLLING THWOMP, THERE IS ONE THING BEST IN LIFE…ROLLING. SQUISH! I ROLL OVER YOU AND MAKE YOU FLAT LIKE A SHEET OF PAPER!"

"Uh, aren't we already-"

"SMASH!"

The group dispersed, scattering every which way to avoid the clobber of his sword. Eggman decided it was his time to take on a Sammer Guy, and readied his battle mech.

"Please hold still, and my thrashing of you will be over shortly!" he exclaimed, sending out his missile menagerie. Rolling Thwomp couldn't even roll out of the way before being struck by seven missiles. Growling, he ran in to bash and batter at Eggman, but the doctor stopped the Sammer Guy in his tracks with a quick laser to his torso. Rolling Thwomp fell backwards, certainly not used to such an attack. Eggman then finished it all off by using Fleep to confuse him, then jumping onto his stomach.

"BYORG! WHY DO YOU NOT SQUISH FOR ROLLING THWOMP? ROLLING AND SQUISH NOT THE SAME AS IT WAS…YOU CAN GO NOW…I HAVE LOST PASSION FOR SQUISH…"

"I can't believe you had a -"

The ground rumbled like the hungry stomach of a bear, or like the sign of an oncoming monsoon…but whatever the tremor was like, it signaled that the world was getting closer to The Void, providing that it appeared even larger in the sky.

"We have to hurry!" Tippi nearly screamed.

"Hurry? Why not pause and savor the show?"

The group and Rolling Thwomp looked around for the source of the new voice, only for its owner to appear above their heads…as Count Bleck.

"It is already far too late to stop…Count Bleck!"

"Who's the creepy clown with the cape…Count Bleck!" Bowser exclaimed, dissing the fool once again.

"BLEH HEH HEH HEH! BLECK! The prophecy unfolds smoothly, thanks to the Chaos Heart. The light of each world will be snuffed out one by one…"

"Why would you want to do something so…unspeakable?" Tippi asked.

"You QUESTION Count Bleck? ! This worthless world's destruction matters not! Far better for Count Bleck to wipe it out existence than let it remain!"

"How can you say that?" Tippi demanded to know. "That's…horrible!"

"Count Bleck scoffs at you! An insignificant Pixl _lectures_ Count Bleck on what is right and wrong?"

"This is not up for discussion! You're wrong…and sick! All living things have a heart. They're all priceless. You can't just…_erase_ them!"

"Of all things, you defend the heart? Nothing could be more worthless…" he hid his face by pulling down the brim of his top hat, averting his saddened gaze from view. "All things…are meaningless. Aside from Timpani, no treasure mattered in the least to me…"

"Tim…Timpani?" Tippi stuttered.

"…Speak no more!" He removed his hand from his hat and spread out his cape. "This world is dying under the monocled gaze of…Count Bleck! But don't let that stop you from trying to find a Pure Heart that you will never acquire! BLEH HEH HEH HEH! BLECK!"

He teleported away, Tippi seeming more disturbed by the conversation than anyone else.

"…Oh, dear…"

"WORLD GOES SQUISH SOON! MUST TELL KING SAMMER! MUST NOT ACCIDENTALLY SQUISH KING AGAIN…"

"Oh, hush, Rolling Thwomp."

**Gate 21-**

When then entered the next area, they were all a bit surprised to see the gate keeper slumped over, as if he was already defeated. Mario, curious, tapped his shoulder.

"The guardian of the 21st gate simmers in hot, savory fury! I am THRASHING PRAWN! You will never pierce my briny husk! I will flail mercilessly at your face with tiny arms!"

"Your name is basically Beating Shrimp."

"Look, you're already on the ground and everything, so can we just go through?" Sonic asked.

"Yeah, this is a really bad time…" added Tippi.

"If you are the heroes we have waited for, you should hurry along to the treasure… I, Thrashing Prawn, must swallow my anger and allow you to pass…"

"Thank you!" Peach called over her shoulder as they started to run again.

**Gate 22-**

They rushed on forward, passing the blue Sammer Guy of the 22nd gate. Thousand-Year Roar, as was his name, allowed them to pass as well with a manly shout. He urged them to King Sammer like Thrashing Prawn, and they wasted no time in doing so.

**Gate 23-**

They ran by Unshy Guy of the 23rd gate, feeling the tremors caused by sky rumble under their feet. Tippi whimpered to herself. She may have been in the air, but she knew things were bad when she could see the quakes shaking everything in sight.

"Do they really expect us to run through a hundred gates? !" panted Link.

"It would be seventy-seven now-"

"Oh, with the technicalities."

**Gate 24-**

"I bet bits of the world are being pulled into the Void as we speak…" Amy said softly, hurrying past a green Sammer Guy named Useless Badge.

"We'll make it…" Samus murmured under her breath.

**Gate 25-**

The group ran by a heavily armored white Sammer Guy with a huge brown mustache, known as Sunshine Flood. While Link decided that was the coolest Sammer Guy yet, Kirby almost stopped to swallow him and take his powers, but Amy grabbed his wrist and pulled him away. Mario, instead of being jealous of the 25th Guy's lush mustache, paid more attention to the fact that there was a Star Block beyond his battle area.

"Hm, I didn't think this place would have any…" Zelda trailed, shrugging.

"Oh…." Tippi moaning, looking very fretful. "We have GOT to hurry…"

Mario noticed the urgency in her voice and bonked the Star Block.

. . .

With The Void encompassing the entire sky, the end of the world was at hand. The pressure was on for the heroes to find all the remaining Pure Hearts. Would regal King Sammer be willing to part with his most precious treasure? Leaving an army of Sammer Guys in his wake, Mario made his way toward the palace…

* * *

**HA! Posted right on time, yet still later than I would have liked... And I'm also surprised to see how well-received the last chapter was, considering I was expecting SOME sort of bashing for making them do the Get-Quest. XD**


	40. The End of This World

Super Paper Mario X

Chapter 39: The End of This World

"Splendid! The heroes have arrived!" King Sammer shouted, running to them from the 26th gate. The heroes were never so relieved to see the somewhat cuckoo king in their lives. With the world on the verge of ending, everyone felt like they were on pins and needles.

"Pure Heart! Now!" Kirby cried frantically.

"We received word of your run-in with that nasty Count Bleck fellow. So the legends are true…Our ancestors truly did foretell these days!" he explained. Zelda blinked.

"How do _you_ know who Count Bleck is…?"

"He constantly shouts in third person- how could you not know?" Sonic commented.

"Well, your ancestors want you to shut up already and over the Pure Heart!" Bowser boomed back to the King. The king looked perplexed.

"You haven't defeated all of my 100 Sammer Guys, but the situation is grave…Oh, why not! Just for royal giggles! The treasure sits on the 26th gate. Go claim the Pure Heart you so richly deserve!"

"Why in the world is it sitting there?" Link wanted to know.

"That's kinda suspicious…" agreed Kirby. Mario, nevertheless, walked up to the tiny chest sitting on the gate. He saw the unsure glances of his friends, but he lifted the lid off it anyway.

Everyone flinched and gasped as a bomb emerged out of the chest and detonated.

"Well, that was a surprise…" Samus sputtered while everyone else coughed off smoke. Instead of being concerned, King Sammer looked more disappointed than anything.

"But…but…that explosion didn't even turn you black with soot!"

"Well isn't that a good thing? !" Peach cried back, doubled over in a coughing fit.

"That totally didn't even hurt you at all! This stinks!"

Everyone's surprise at the king's reaction was replaced by shock of how he was able to teleport as well. He popped up next to them, looking absolutely furious.

"So you thought you'd just grab the Pure Heart? You guys are so dumb! Mimimimimimimi!"

Some looked confused, other put on game faces, but Peach flat-out scowled. King Sammer smirked sinisterly as he transformed into a little green girl, dressed in a kimono and flower accessory.

"Surprise! It's me, Mimi! You're so silly! Did you really think the crazy king would_ give_ you the Pure Heart? The king's probably tucked all cozy in a bed taking a nap in the castle…making cute li'l snoring noises while his world goes bye-bye!"

"Get out of our way, Mimi…" Peach demanded.

"Yeah, we don't have time for a rematch!" Amy exclaimed. Mimi made a face.

"You DUMMIES! The only reason I'm even HERE is to get in the way! I'm not all soft n' cuddly like the count. Nighty-night! It's bedtime for you guys! NYEEAAAAH!"

"Ooh, not again…" moaned Link.

"Please don't turn into a spider…" prayed Sonic. Zelda went slack jawed.

"No one told me you had a run in with her before!"

"Yeah, back at Merlee's Mansion!" Peach said. "I thought we told you…"

"She's part spider, Princess!" Link wailed. "It's so…_disturbing_…"

"Ugh, I don't even want to think about something like that…" cringed Samus.

"Oh hey, you found your girlfriend!" Mimi snickered as she started to float into the air and surround herself with Rubees. Flames danced between Zelda's fingers.

"Mimi, correct?" she seethed. "I do believe I haven't got my revenge on you yet…just stay there, look cute, and I'll happily beat you senseless."

Mimi tisked. "I dunno, I wouldn't want you to end up like your red haired friend…you know, with the _really_ blue eyes and those clunky boots?"

"What do you know about Malon?" Link shouted as Zelda growled again.

"Guys! The apocalypse is upon us!" Kirby reminded them frantically. "We don't have time for casual conversation!"

"I'm faily sure discussing the whereabouts about a missing aquaintance isn't casual," Eggman interrupted.

"NYEAH!"

A few of the heroes tried to run past Mimi, but Mimi cast some of her Rubees in front of the way out. They barely missed slicing off Bowser's tail.

"I refuse to let you leave! Like I said, that's all I'm here for!"

Peach took a firm grip on her parasol. "Then let's beat her quickly, ladies."

Zelda and Amy exchanged a nod, Sonic tilting his head.

"You're going to face her again?"

"For Zelda's sake, mostly."

"Oh yeah?" Mimi laughed. "Try and catch me now!"

She cackled as she flipped into 3D, Peach, Zelda, and Amy groaning in frustration. Samus, acting quick, borrowed Thoreau from Mario and transported into 3D herself. Mimi appeared surprised, but said nothing to show that she was. She casts spiraling Rubees at Samus, hoping to pierce her armor, but Samus shot Mimi with a Charge Beam before she even got hurt. Mimi screamed and teleported back, Samus grabbing a Rubee in 3D, then returning and giving it to Peach.

"I see you have a stronger recruit now as well," Mimi huffed, sending down a rain of Rubees that all three girls protected themselves from. "Much more of an upgrade than you sissies!"

"Oh yeah?" Peach cried, throwing the Rubee at Mimi. "Well these sissies kicked your butt once and we'll do it again!"

"And I'll beat you so bad it'll feel like I did it twice!" Zelda shouted, filling the whole battle area with a dome of swirling flames. Mimi certainly felt the heat as Peach, Amy, and Samus backed up while everyone else took cover from the torrent.

"Is she hot or what?" Link chuckled to himself. Sonic just shook his head.

"The bad part about that one is that I can't tell if it's a pun or not!"

"Sounds like both to me," Eggman added in.

"Hey! This isn't your conversation!"

"Well sorry for giving some input!"

Meanwhile, back at the battle, the girls had developed a bit of a system to take down the floating shape-shifter. Samus would grab a Rubee, hand it to Peach, then Peach would toss it at Amy who would hit it towards Mimi. Then that would leave Mimi susceptible to any attack Zelda wanted to perform.

"Catch, Peach!" Samus said after obtaining another Rubee. Peach jumped up and caught it, tossing it quickly to Amy. The hedgehog grinned to herself as she batted it back like it was a baseball. It struck Mimi in the side, leaving a hole in her Rubee-based defense. Zelda was quick to attack, casting out a hand and summoning Farore's Wind.

"HEY!"

She went flying into a pillar, Samus quickly jumping in on the rebound and firing her Arm Cannon once again. Mimi meekly picked herself up again and sent down Rubees to crash down on all their heads. Samus was automatically immune thanks to her suit, Peach pulled into her parasol, Amy curled up into a ball, and Zelda summoned Nayru's Love. Mimi threw a midair fit at her attacks being ineffective.

"That's just cheating, you hear?" she screeched. "Real fighters don't use those defensive gimmicks in battle! You're just…WIMPS!"

"Take off the 'w' and we've got _your_ definition," Samus snapped back, aiming her cannon once more.

"C'mon, blast her face off!" Ganondorf roared.

"She shouldn't take that long to utterly destroy!" called Bowser.

"Ooh, I've got a bad feeling about all of this…" Kirby groaned.

Mimi went to teleport into 3D again, but Amy bashed her out of the air by using her hammer and a Rubee. As she tumbled out of the sky, Peach smacked her with her parasol just because she could, and Zelda finished off the onslaught by simply kicking her. Mimi went skidding along the ground, landing at Samus' feet. The bounty huntress smiled as she aimed her cannon down at Mimi again.

"Dah!"

Right before she got blasted in the face, Mimi teleported into 3D. Samus groaned and followed her, only for a ton of Rubees appearing out of thin air to be thrown at her Power Suit. They all bounced off with tiny clanks. Mimi threw her head back and shouted at the sky.

"IT'S JUST NOT FAIR!"

"What? That you have puny attacks?" Samus snorted, successfully hitting Mimi so hard, she reverted back into 2D. Mimi seethed with rage now, finding herself surrounded by the four females.

"It doesn't even matter!" she yelled. "You'll all die one way or another!"

"Ugh, I'm so tired of you and your bratty green face!" Amy shrieked, trying to hit Mimi with her hammer, but the shape shifter dodged the attack.

"I'm just tired of her in general…" grumbled Tippi.

"Aren't we all?" Peach huffed as well.

Samus grabbed another Rubee and threw it herself, striking Mimi once again. Then, Peach ducked into her umbrella and Zelda jumped off of it, coming at Mimi while being surrounded by a tornado of flames. In one damaging blow, Zelda took all the flames and fired them at Mimi in the form of a fire ball. She fell back to the ground, Amy angrily standing over her and smashing Cudge's hammer onto her. Mimi was on the verge of being defeated when Peach walked up to her, glaring down furiously. The little green pigtailed girl glared right back. Peach then produced a Rubee of her own and threw it down at Mimi. With a shout of "OUCHIE!", she maneuvered herself back to the middle of the platform.

"That really hurt! You're just a big bunch of bullies who hit cute little girls!" Mimi winced. "But it doesn't matter an eensy teensy bit, hee hee! Everything's perfect!"

"What the heck are you going on about now?" Ganondorf groaned.

"…what? Don't believe me? Look up at the sky!"

Everyone already knew of The Void closing in on the world, but when they looked at it from how humongous it was now, well…it was probably the largest size that they would ever see of The Void.

"This world is doomed…" Kirby managed to spit out. Mimi nodded cheerfully.

"Yep, I sure got you meanies to waste LOTS of your time!"

"Though you didn't take _that_ long to defeat…" Zelda huffed under her breath.

"Guess you'll have to give up looking for that dumb Pure Heart now!"

"This psychotic girl was only trying to stall us…" Tippi stated.

"That was one of the first things she told us!" Bowser growled.

"Golly, you guys really have your thinking caps on today, huh? Well, I did warn you that I was meaner than the count! Anyhow, it's sure a big old bummer that I can't stay to play more with you guys. But this place is about to go kabloooooey! And you're stuck here because _you_ can't teleport and _I_ can! Later, meanies!"

Mimi gave a cheekily little grin before spinning around and teleporting away. Mario wearily looked up at the sky again- The Void was as big as the sky! Now filled with tons of fear, the group bolted in a race against time.

**Gate 27-**

A red Sammer Guy known as Grand Master Kick Face sat at his gate, awaiting the fate of his world like all the other Sammer Guys of the kingdom…

**Gate 28-**

"Interloper, it is I, Soaring Cape! I will whoosh down upon…ahh, forget it. Just go."

**Gate 29-**

The tremors grew increasingly stronger as they carried on, and between Mario, Kirby, and Tippi, it was hard to tell who was looking the most fretful. Kirby, because this was reminding him of what had happened back in his home world, Tippi because of what Count Bleck had said before all of this, and Mario because this could spell out doom in several different ways. The guy at this gate sent them off with this: "Fly to king Sammer! Now!"

**Gate 30-**

"Go to the king!"

**Gate 31-**

"Grah, can't we run any faster? !" Bowser complained.

"Dude, I've been using Dashell the whole time!" Sonic exclaimed.

"We're only at Gate 31! We aren't going to make it!" yelped Link.

"HA HA HA. WE ARE DOOMED," confirmed a crazy-looking navy blue Sammer Guy with a red helmet. "IT CANNOT BE STOPPED. HAH HAH."

At this point, The Void didn't just fill the sky- it WAS the sky. Bright white flashes blinded them all and the tremors became one continuous rumble. The crazy Sammer Guy let out one last chuckle before running off to who knew where.

"HAH HAH HAH."

It didn't matter where he ran to- he was trapped in this world just like the heroes.

"We've got to make it!" Tippi trembled, her voice wavering. "We can't fail now. Not now! We've come so far..."

"Try telling that to the black hole that's going to kill us all," Ganondorf said, still retaining his negativity even at the end of the world. The flashes got even brighter and the quakes grew even more server, if that was even possible. The group threw themselves at each other, holding on to each other tight as the sound of the world collapsing was the only sound that rang out. The world fell apart at the seams, being torn apart by the remorseless Void...

. . .

As Mario held onto his friends and felt the world slipping away from under him, one final thought passed through his mind.

Another world was gone…THEY were gone…this world's Pure Heart and all its people were gone…and now everything was doomed.

For the first time, they had failed, and they paid the ultimate price for it.

* * *

**So, not entirely sure about what to say on this chapter (I'll leave that to you), except that it was on the shorter end of the chapters. But, the good news is that there's only one more like that, AND, unimportantly, it's the shortest one in the entire story! You know, considering we're about to get to the best part in the story... :D**

**And speaking of that, guess what? ...BOSS WEEKEND! (fast, wasn't it?) Yeah, since Chapter 6 wanted to be lame and end early on us, _again_, we're countering by having Boss Weekend a little early (double especially since the boss chapter is next, it'll be posted tomorrow, and I'm very excited!)**

**So, yeah! Three chapters again this week, then we begin... CHAPTER 7! *confetti* I've waited a LONG time for this! ^^**


	41. How to Survive the End of the World

Super Paper Mario X

Chapter 40: How to Survive the End of a World

Subtiltle: The World With Nothing Left

"_Count Bleck…I feel like I know him from somewhere…"_

"Oh, we're dead…we've died an unforgiving death…"

"I think I see that light that everyone talks about…"

"If we're dead, why do I feel so alive…?"

"Guys…we messed up…and there was a huge consequence behind it…"

"WE'RE DEAD!"

"And we've let a world die at our hands as well…"

"Wait…I do!" Tippi shrieked vibrantly, answering her own thoughts. "Or at least, I did! I did know him! But…how? And when? And who is he? I can't remember…"

"Something tells me we're not dead…I'm hearing Tippi pretty well, and she's usually hard to hear."

"I'm afraid to open my eyes-"

"WE'RE AT FLIPSIDE!"

"Hunh? !"

When everyone opened their eyes, sure enough, they were at Flipside Tower, completely confused. Whimpering, Kirby stood himself up and looked around.

"Is this a figment of our imagination or something?"

"If we're alive…" Eggman groaned, standing up and stretching his back. "Shouldn't we be in The Void at least?"

"I kinda wanna know what Tippi was droning on about…" Peach moaned dizzily. Mario struggled up himself to walk over to her and help her up. Tippi noticed him move and looked at him.

"Mario…You realize…"

Everyone else slowly let the stress of what they had recently been through relax a little, standing up and gathering around Tippi.

"Urgh…Whuzzat? Whozere? Bwah! What's going on here! ?" roared Bowser.

"I'm a little discombobulated myself, so it's hard to say…" Tippi trailed.

"I think we all are," Zelda said somewhat drearily, being propped up by Link.

"At the very least, we seem to have returned to Flipside…"

"But how? HOW?" questioned Sonic.

"Just be glad that we did…" Samus grunted. "I don't think I'm quite ready to witness the Underworld yet."

"But what of King Sammer and the Sammer Guys…" Peach trailed unconfidently. "And the Pure Heart…"

Mario frowned while thinking about it as Tippi floated over to the Indigo door, which apparently still existed.

"The door leading to that world is still here, it seems…I wonder…Do we dare go back in…Yes. Yes, I think we should go through…"

Kirby violently shook his head. "N-no, I don't wanna go back in there…"

"But Kirby we have to!" Amy protested. "We can't save the rest of the worlds with only six Pure Hearts!"

"The world's gone, and everything in it is too- including the Pure Heart," he said stubbornly. "It's pointless to go back in there."

"Geez kid, you're starting to sound like me!" stated Ganondorf. Kirby trembled slightly and glanced up at his team.

"Do you _really_ want to see what a world is like after its end, huh? Do you want to know what happens to the world after its game is over?"

"It's not about that, Kirby," Samus said.

"We want to go and see if the Pure Heart somehow survived, like we did," Peach stated softly.

"…I know. I'll go, but I won't like it. And you won't like it either…"

He solemnly stepped toward the blue door, then motioned for someone else to go first. Everyone exchanged gazed until they all fell on the heroic red plumber, who sighed and made his way up to the front. They were unusually silent after Kirby's stubborn fit, and it was that eerie silence that made Mario almost not want to open the door. He forced his hand to the handle of the door, gripped it for several moments, then finally pulled it open, and slowly walked into the ruins of a forgotten world…

. . .

The heroes reluctantly returned to the world they had come from, Kirby warning them about what they might see. As they journeyed through, Tippi pondered more about her possible connections with the Count, and wondered what they could've been.

Would the teams be able to handle whatever rested behind that bold blue door?

**The World With Nothing Left-**

When the group reentered that blue door, and reentered what was once Sammer's Kingdom, they were greeted…by nothing. Nothing. Nothing at all.

The entire place could only be described as white, with a mere thin black line for the heroes to walk on. It was a very disheartening sight, since the world was once so beautiful, bright, vivid and colorful…and it was reduced to _nothing_.

It was like someone took a giant eraser and wiped an entire painting clean.

"Oh my goodness…" Zelda breathed, not believing her eyes just like everyone else.

"There's…nothing left," Tippi realized- which was already stated, thank you.

"This is messed up. I'm all for being evil, but this is just overkill!" Bowser exclaimed while shaking his head.

"I would destroy the world, but not completely _obliterate_ it like this…" Ganondorf confessed.

"How terrible…" Peach cringed, clutching her hands tightly. She then noticed Tippi suddenly jolt in mid-flight.

"Wait…I can feel something very faint. It's the Pure Heart! I can't believe anything is left here, but we have to go take a look."

"Isn't that what we came to this desolate wasteland to do in the first place?" Sonic asked, starting to walk into the whiteness. Everyone solemnly started to follow, and if felt like the nothingness of the place was slowly closing in on them…the only things that showed them that they were actually going somewhere were the pointed roofs of the kingdom jetting out of the ground at random spots. Amy stared at a piece of debris for a long time before turning away in disgust.

"Heh heh…I bet this is what my world looks like…" Kirby chuckled in an off key, borrowing Carrie from Samus and riding her down the long path. "I bet that there's…there's nothing left, just like here…"

"Kirby? Are you okay…?" Link asked. "You've seemed sort of out of it ever since we first entered this world…"

"Before it was wiped clear out of existence," Eggman said bluntly.

"N-no, I'm fine…just trying hard not to…to…CRY!"

The pink puff burst into tears so suddenly that it caught everyone off guard, Kirby flooding like a waterfall. Peach instinctively was at his side, giving him a comforting hug.

"Seeing everything…just GONE like this…all the buildings destroyed, all the colors turned white, all the people gone…I won't be able to see…my world…_ever_…_**again**_!"

He was now gripping Peach in a death hug, and Peach decided that turning purple was a small sacrifice she would have to make.

"I remember how colorful and cheery it was, how beautiful everything was, and how nice the people were…but they're gone! I'll never see any of my friends back home again! I won't be able to go home again! I'm…I'm probably the last one!"

"What about Meta Knight?" Sonic asked quietly. "If we survived, don't you think he-"

"He actually went straight into that black hole, Sonic!" Kirby wailed. "I dunno how we managed to make it out Scott free, but he didn't! Oh, I should have went back and saved him, but he told me to run and I panicked and when I looked back again he was disappearing into that unforgiving thing of violet! I'm such a cruel person- I left a good man to an awful fate!"

"Calm down Kirby, if you saved him you might've been swallowed up too," Samus said, trying to be helpful. Kirby sniffled, let go of Peach, and wiped away a tear.

"Well…isn't a hero's motto to die trying?"

"Darn loopholes…" grunted Sonic.

"Well, that IS true…" Link agreed with Kirby.

"Just look at this world…" Kirby continued as they kept walking. "Is this our future? A bleak, white nothing?"

"Don't think like that Kirby!" Amy demanded. "Everything will turn out okay, I know it!"

"Everything doesn't turn out okay! If it did, then we wouldn't be here in a dead world not know what's gonna happen, my world wouldn't be gone, we'd know where our lost friends are, and Count Bleck wouldn't have tried to destroy everything in the first place!"

"If everything turned out okay, nothing bad would happen, and then there wouldn't be such a thing as a hero," Samus interrupted. "Bad guys wouldn't exist either, and what would that be like?"

"Yeah, when things go wrong, there's always someone or something there to fix it, right?" Zelda asked, bending down to Kirby's level.

"With heroes around, well, if you are one, you get the experience of a thrilling life, and standing out from the rest of the crowd," Sonic pointed out.

"If you're a villain, you get the challenge of trying to get what you want no matter what tries to stand in your way," Ganondorf added.

"And after constant failures, you learn to never give up either!" Bowser pointed out too. "So it builds character!"

"Unfortunately…" muttered Peach.

"And for people who are just your everyday people, well, what would you think about if you were an everyday person?" Samus asked.

"Um…what it would be like to have an exciting life?" Kirby guessed. Samus nodded.

"Or if you're that occasional brat that dreams of taking over the world," Eggman added. "_Those_ are the ones with potential!"

"Think about it- what would you do if you couldn't go beyond the limits of reality, or even _think_ about them if you couldn't. If nothing ever went bad, we'd have some dull lives, and we would have never came to meet each other because the sense of adventure wouldn't exist," Zelda stated. Kirby looked thoughtful, still sniffling a little.

"I guess you're right…" he decided. "And if we somehow do manage to save the day after all…what am I going to do? I'll have no where to go…I know I've said I was tired of my world before, but now that it's gone I know what I'm missing…"

"Yeah, when we go home, I'm going to appreciate my world a heck of a lot more…" Sonic said, mostly to himself though.

"You can come to my world Kirby!" Link suggested. "It might not be just like your home, but it's still okay…"

"Yes, I wouldn't mind having you in Hyrule," Zelda said with a small smile.

"Or you could search through a few worlds we haven't even reached yet," Samus stated, staring at the sky. "Maybe you find one that's just like yours."

"That is if there's still-" Ganondorf started to say, but Bowser punched him in the arm before he could get any farther. Kirby finally stopped sobbing and grinned at them all.

"Thanks guys…you're the best…"

"Just what we like to deliver," Sonic boasted, getting Samus to roll her eyes. Mario watched them all cheer Kirby up and smiled as well- they really _were_ the best...and he couldn't have asked for better.

. . .

After walking through nothing for what seemed like forever, Tippi suddenly felt the presence of the Ancients' artifact and stopped everyone in their tracks to nowhere.

"What's that over there?"

A small rock jetted out of the ground, though part of it seemed eerily familiar…

"Could that be…? It's a Pure Heart!" Tippi cried. "It seems an impossibility, but it somehow survived the obliteration of this world."

"That means _we're_ impossibilities too."

"Something about to seems odd though…"

"Well yeah! It's been turned to stone!"

"Heh heh heh…This place is pretty _bland_ now, isn't it?"

Everyone exchanged glances, except for Mario, who recognized that voice and laugh almost too instantly…

"I'll say," said a second voice. "Looks like their hopes of saving anyone got _whited_ out!"

"Perhaps now the realization of the threat they are dealing with is _clear_…" added a third.

"Yeah! And the, uh…the white…nothing…oh, screw it, I've got my music!"

And as if on cue, a theme the group had heard once before played out, echoing in the white expanse.

The Man in Green dropped out of the nonexistent sky, landing right in front of the Pure Heart. He eyed it and took a small hop back.

"Hey, what's going on here? Looks like your Pure Heart got broken. I guess Pure Hearts can't handle the end of the world. Heh."

"Isn't that the truth," sighed the Marigold Menace, now standing next to him. "Guess they weren't so pure after all."

"Guess we got here just in time," the Navy Nightmare stated, swooping over everyone's head and landing next to the girl.

"What're we gonna do, Thunder?" asked the Radical Red, falling out of the sky too and landing on the Navy Nightmare, who promptly kicked him away.

"Eh, whatever. I'll swipe it just for kicks."

The Green Thunder chuckled to himself as he claimed the once-pure Pure Heart for himself. When the group approached, the quartet turned around and acknowledged them as if they hadn't known they were there.

"Hey, butterballs. Feeling a little pooped out? Too bad you sweated your way here for nothing. Heh."

"HEY! I'm not fat! I just got a big shell," Bowser protested.

"Yeah, Eggman's the fat one," Ganondorf reminded them, Eggman fuming with anger.

"Who said anything about being-"

Mr. L just stared at them with a mischievous twinkle in his eye. "How about that Prognosticus! Anything the count doesn't like…POOF! It never existed!"

"Let's hope he starts to not like you and you'll go poof too!" Amy snapped back.

"Hey! Watch what you say to him, Missy!" Lass M intervened with her hands on her hips.

"I wouldn't be talking," grunted Link.

"What did you say! ?"

"You heard him," Zelda sneered back.

"It's in your best interest not to provoke us," Sir MK warned. Master K just waved around his new boom box.

"Is no one listening to Mr. L's epic theme? ! C'mon, a little acknowledgement would be appreciated!"

"Look, we've gotta run. Stay out of the count's business if you want to live," Mr. L said coolly, starting to walk off. Master K looked confused.

"But I thought we were gonna-

"Don't you know when to stay quiet!" yelled Lass M and Sir MK.

"You got a big mouth for a henchmen. Minions need to learn respect!" Bowser stated.

"Tell me about it- we're sub henchmen!" cried Master K.

Mr. L shook his head. "Still pushing for a fight, huh? Fine. Who am I to disappoint?"

He threw up his hands dramatically while the rest of the foes grinned sinisterly.

"BROBOT LAUNCH!"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

Everyone waited. Nothing happened. Lass M, Sir MK, and Master K all stared at Mr. L, who was gritting his teeth and clenching his fists.

"I **said**…BROBOT LAUNCH!"

Still, nothing.

"For the love of…I'm going to_ kill_ that kid so help me-"

"Uh, technical difficulties?" Master K laughed nervously, trying to make an excuse.

"I'll handle this…" Lass M grunted while walking away. Sir MK just glanced at Mr. L while he was muttering incoherent angry things to himself.

"And _you_ said he wasn't going to screw this up-"

"I'MMA GET THAT KID!"

"Chill, this was totally expected!" Master K exclaimed.

"Not on my watch!"

"Which is a cool shade of green-"

Sir MK tackled Master K before he said any more. Mario had heard him, however, and curiously tilted his head.

"We can't even contact him because you took his away," Master K also pointed out. Mr. L stared at him harshly.

"Why don't you play your music louder so _I can't hear you_."

"…okay!"

Mr. L groaned and shook his head while Lass M returned looking smug.

"What did you do?" Sir MK asked.

"Let's just say I worked a little magic," she giggled. "BROBOT LAUNCH!"

As if on cue (which it probably, and finally, was), the ground started to shake, as if it had been shaken enough already. Out of the whiteness burst the improved, tuned-up Brobot, with Captain T sitting in the cockpit screaming. When the new Mr. L-resembling Brobot landed on his feet, Mr. L forgot about being angry and threw his hands in the air, as if to emphasize his creation's greatness.

"Just check this thing out! This bad boy is sporting the latest in brobotics. Meet my new friend…BROBOT L-TYPE!"

"Can I play the music now? !"

"NOT YET."

"I fixed up the thing all by myself with no help from _anyone_!" Captain T shouted down. "It was child abuse!"

"Child abuse? ! We didn't even touch you!" Lass M defended.

"Oh yeah, and they watched me build it while sipping sparkling JUICE! Someone call the cops for mistreatment!"

"You little…" Lass M murmured dangerously before jumping into the Brobot L-Type. Eggman whistled.

"Wow, that kid's more evil than the other four put together!"

"Yeah, I wonder if he's considering going solo," pondered Bowser.

The group glanced at each other while a small skirmish could be heard taking place in Brobot's cranium.

"Why the heck were you late! ?"

"Why'd you pull me in out of the blue with your stupid flute? !"

"Because you WEREN'T LISTENING!"

"You just can't get good quality minions these days…" sighed Sir MK, following Mr. L into Brobot. Master K watched them, then looked at the heroes, then back again before jumping in as well. Mr. L pushed Captain T out of the driver's seat and revved up his metal brother.

"The Green Thunder strikes like lightning!" he shouted. Lass M smirked as she attempted to shout threatening things as well.

"We're gonna- OW!- mess up your faces- GET OUTTA MY SEAT!"

Thud.

"There was no need for pushing, jerk!" yelled Captain T.

"Knock it off!" roared Sir MK.

"Can I play my music now?" Master K asked in the middle of the chaos.

Mr. L twitched and thrust the controls forward, aimed for Mario himself. "HAVE AT YOU!"

He then blinked, followed by a sigh. "Master K…cue the theme."

"FINALLY!" he yelled, nearly breaking the play button when he smashed his fist onto it. What seemed like a techno-like remix of Mr. L's theme began to play, and Link started tapping his foot to it.

"Hey, he wasn't wrong when he said it was awesome."

"Do doo, do doo da doo, do da do doo!" hummed Master K.

"I let you play your song, now get to the work on the weapons!" Mr. L called.

"I thought I was on weapons?" Sir MK asked.

"You're_ both_ on weapons! Lass M is lookout, I'm driving, and Captain T is just taking up space."

Captain T growled again, but said nothing. Meanwhile, Sonic stretched and yawned.

"Well, I guess we'd better break their little toy, huh?"

"Yes! They've got the Pure Heart!" Tippi cried.

"It's always about the Pure Hearts with you…" Ganondorf groaned.

Mario ran in to attack, but quickly had to retreat when Brobot's metallic mustache came flying off. Everyone hit the deck as it buzzed over them, just missing decapitating them.

"Yep, they've got the latest alright…" grunted Samus, jumped back to her feet quickly and firing at will. Master K snickered to himself.

"Oh you wanna play with missiles? Okay then…"

He pressed a button, and a lid on Brobot's nose popped off. Samus stared confusedly at it until a large green and red missile came flying at them.

"Augh! They've got missiles too!" Amy cried as the missile struck the ground, the aftermath explosion sending them in all directions.

"Curse you, missiles!" "The ultimate fighting ammo!"

"Heh heh heh…" Mr. L cackled, flying Brobot a short ways before preparing to land on the group. Everyone rolled out of the way except for Peach, who duck under her parasol swiftly.

"Wow, that's one handy accessory…" Lass M noticed. "Can I have one?"

The heroes, meanwhile, kept throwing themselves at the robot with all they had, but some of their attacks weren't working. Amy hit the back of it with her hammer- it did nothing. Link stabbed at one of Brobot's hands and didn't even leave a mark. Ganondorf even summoned a huge firewall, but Brobot L-Type passed painlessly through it. Team Mr. L chuckled to themselves, Master K and Lass M even dancing to the music in celebration.

"What's wrong? Can't hurt us?" Mr. L teased. "Yeah, you can't get past my brother. He's perfect! Great defense, great attacks, and stunningly good-looks…what more could you ask for? Nothing, because Mr. L gets it _all,_ baby!"

"Yeah, sure…" Sir MK groaned before pulling down a lever. Brobot's eyes started to glow green, followed by shooting out a laser, which fried Sonic's tail for a split second and sent him running around like crazy. Master K then returned to his controls and slammed his fist on a large purple button, causing Brobot's mouth to fly open and suck up everything in the way. Unfortunately, everyone got caught up in it (except Sonic, who was still running around screaming about his tail), the Brobot swallowing them and chewing them up like a snack.

"Finally, now you'll see that we don't mess around!" Mr. L cackled. Brobot spat them out like they were nothing, and Mario skidded into a pre-fighting position when he landed, also adjusting his cap. Mr. L figured he was up to any challenge, and grinned in spite of himself. "We are the greatest set of villains you'll ever run into in your life!"

"No you're not!" shouted Eggman.

"Yeah, that's us your talking about!" Bowser exclaimed.

"Can it, Mr. Incompetent," Lass M jeered through the microphone. Mr. L spun Brobot around while Master K launched the razor 'stache once again. It knocked Link over with an "oomph", but nothing too serious occurred. Sir MK then fired some missiles himself, but Zelda jumped in front of everyone and blew the projectiles back with Farore's Wind. Brobot recoiled backward, and Team Mr. L finally realized that they had been hit.

"Counter attacks! Blasphemy!" shouted Master K.

"We'll get them before they try anything like that again…" Mr. L said through gritted teeth, flying Brobot over the group again. Link, meanwhile, "carelessly" dropped Boomer where Mr. L was going to land, then snapped his fingers and detonated his Pixl where Brobot stood. Brobot displayed a face of pain, Mr. L pounding angrily on the dashboard.

"Ow! My tail! It still hurts!" Sonic wailed, running straight into Brobot so fast, it nearly knocked him over! The four controlling the robot lurched forward and nearly smacked their heads against the window while Captain T rolled into the front and fell against Mr. L's chair. Master K accidentally brushed his hand against the control for the laser, causing it to fire. Samus reflected the laser back, however, and zapped Brobot in the face with his own attack.

"OH SNAP, they're fighting lasers with lasers!" wailed Master K. "And we've used up everything we have already!"

Captain T, meanwhile, smirked in the corner, pulling a remote control out of his pocket.

Brobot's hand clenched into a fist and pounded on the heroes like they were whack-a-moles. Ultimately, it grabbed Mario and brought him up to where Mr. L was sitting, clutching him tightly. The plumber had barely done anything in this fight (which surprised himself), so why were they mainly after him? Mr. L stared harshly back, eyeing his somewhat look-alike…and deciding that Mario most certainly did _not_ have a better 'stache than he did.

"Looks like the 'stache is on the other face now, eh?" Mr. L chuckled. When Mario displayed a look of confusion, Mr. L shook his head. "Gah! I meant the shoe is on the other foot and gunk like that bla bla bla…I'M GOING TO BE THE ONE WINNING THIS TIME, YA HEAR! ?"

Captain T pressed the button on his control again, and Mario went flying across the white battlefield. Mr. L smirked to himself- for whatever reason, he preferred just to defeat the red one…

Master K opened the mouth again, but this time it only sucked Amy in. Furious, she had Cudge whip her up a hammer, and she starting putting dents in Brobot from the inside. The bangs she created were enough to rattle the entire craft!

"Spit her out, now!" Lass M demanded. Master K frantically pounded at the dashboard, pushing buttons like he was playing a piano.

"I'm trying! She _refuses_ to be _spat_!"

Mario, still standing after the deadly toss he had suffered, ran up to Kirby and grabbed him with Thoreau. They exchanged a serious glance, then Mario tossed the pink puffball.

"YA-EEE!"

He came down like meteor, leaving a nice fresh scratch right down the middle of Brobot's face. Mario threw Sonic as well, the hedgehog rebounding off the outside of the cockpit and nearly knocking Brobot over again. A missile flew out of Brobot's nose once more, but Zelda sent them flying back with a spinning Nayru's Love while Samus fired an onslaught of her own. As Captain T tried to crush everyone again with Brobot's fists, Eggman jumped in front of the machine in his own mech. His thumbs slammed down on the buttons on the steering wheel, and several turrets came popping out of the sides. At least a dozen missiles came flying out to top the ones that Brobot attacked with, plus they had more firepower to back them up.

"ACK! It's like they're throwing earthquakes at us!" shouted Lass M. "Do something!"

"Don't you think we're trying? !" Mr. L, Master K, and Sir MK yelled back.

"Heh, looks like we'll be going down again soon!" chuckled Captain T. Mr. L's grip tightened around the controls.

"I don't have the time to deal with _you_ right now…"

"Good, cuz I've still got that headache, and you shouting randomly to the sky **really** isn't helping any-"

"NARGH!"

Captain T just stuck his tongue out at him as he pressed the button again, Brobot's fist flying forward and making contact with Bowser, Sonic, Peach, Link, Samus, and Amy, punching them all into a neat pile before being butchered. Zelda summoned Nayru's Love over all of them, but had to stop to protect herself from an oncoming laser.

As that was going on, Brobot's mouth sucked in air once again, and the group was pulled into its vacuum almost instantly. Mario thought quickly, however, borrowing Boomer and tossing him into the robot's maw. Brobot accepted that as a snack, but when he swallowed it, Boomer detonated, and combined with the damage Amy had dealt earlier, it wasn't looking so good for him…

Mario smirked as Brobot L-Type detonated into several explosions. Lass M, Master K, and Sir MK were running around screaming like they had done last time, while Captain T just burst out laughing in the corner. Mr. L just couldn't believe what was happening.

"Awwwww WHAT! ? No way. My Brobot L-Type shoots missiles. MISSILES!"

"ARGH!"

Brobot literally burst now, Team Mr. L falling onto the ground and landing flat on their faces. When Mr. L hit the ground, the stone Pure Heart fell out of his pocket. Lass M shot an angry glance at Captain T.

"I bet you _did_ do something…" she growled.

"I did exactly what I was supposed to do, so shut up! Obviously none of you know how to fight!"

"I lost my boom box…AGAIN!" Master K wailed dramatically. "My awesome music…it was so young…"

Mr. L stomped his foot when he stood up again, just plain mad at everyone. "Preposterous! Why? ! Why can't I win! ?"

"Well…it might be because you're weak…" Tippi suggested.

"And a loser," added Peach. Captain T pointed to them.

"See? They agree too!"

Mr. L was outraged. "GRRRR! You laugh now, but the Green Thunder never forgets!"

In a single bound, he jumped over the heroes and marched away, not saying another word. Captain T frowned slightly, but quickly followed the rest of his team as they parted through the heroes and took off after Mr. L. Master K turned around and shook a fist at them.

"You'll see! One day, there will be no more heroes! Just you wait! K-atch ya later!"

"That Mr. L freak is an insano," Bowser deduced.

"They all are!" Kirby concluded. "Especially that kid…"

"And yet…they seem so familiar…" Amy pondered. "I wonder who they are…"

"Hmm…green clothes, name has something to do with an L, wears a hat…he must be…_**ME**_!" Link cried.

Mario: *sweat drops*

"Kidding!"

"Oh look…" Tippi trailed, floating over the Pure Heart. "He must have dropped it when he ran off."

"Wow, that heart really got stoned."

"Oh yeah! Sure glad we went through all that for a stupid heart-shaped rock!" growled Bowser.

"We'd better take it back to Merlon…he'll know what to do…"

Mario nodded and picked it up- it was WAY heavier than a usual Pure Heart! As he was grimacing while trying to lug it back to Flipside, the gang exchanged unsure glances.

"Um…we got a Stone Heart?"

"It's just not the same! The Pixls didn't even dance!"

"Who wants to celebrate picking up a rock?"

. . .

Meanwhile, Mr. L was standing in the middle of nowhere, wheezing with exhaustion and frustration.

"I don't know what it is about those guys, but I just can't seem to beat them!"

He sighed to himself, feeling lower than ever before. Just then, his team came walking up to him, somewhat concerned.

"Uh, Mr. L? Are you okay?" Lass M asked, walking up with the others in tow.

"You look…sacked," Master K described.

"Well…you try having your pride squashed! That princess was probably right- I am a loser…"

"Well if you are a loser, then you're a Lovable Loser, Mr. L," Lass M said, wrapping him in a hug. Captain T stuck his tongue out and made gagging noises.

"Bleh, just kiss him while you're in the middle of all this gush!"

"I don't feel like being loved right now…" Mr. L groaned. "Oh, what if the Count finds out about this…?"

"We've let him down in several ways already…" trailed Sir MK.

"Ah ha ha. Did they wound your fragile pride, Mr. L? Demolish your robot again?"

The group all growled except for Mr. L, who regarded Dimentio in a casual fashion. "Oh, it's you again, Dimentio. I'm stumped. You'd think a giant robot would be enough to crush these heroes…" He sadly turned his back to Dimentio. "I'm a disgrace…There's no way I can show my face to Count Bleck after THIS."

A spark suddenly went off in Captain T's mind. What Mr. L had just said…why did it feel like he had said something similar before? He cringed and rubbed his head while Dimentio stared at the group seriously.

"Perhaps this is for the best."

The jester raised his hands, while Mr. L caught the action out of the corner of his eye. He pushed everyone and himself out of the way as a small explosion went off from where he had once been.

Whoa, now! Hey! What are you doing? !"

Dimentio shrugged. "You said it yourself. You can't go back to the Count now. So get lost."

"Dimentio!" Lass M exclaimed sharply.

Captain T suddenly started shaking nervously. "We…we've gotta get out of here…"

Mr. L glared back at the guy who had just tried to blow him up. "Not a funny joke Dimentio…If I wanted to laugh, your face is inspiration enough!"

"Such temper!" Dimentio tisked. "Your nostrils, they flare out like the hood of a hissing cobra! I can't have you around the count. If I am rid of you here, I won't be found out. And the others will never find you. Yes, this is my moment to grasp. It's time for you to take your final bow, Team Mr. L…"

Dimentio smirked maliciously as a cube surrounded Team Mr. L, the leader suddenly beginning to panic. Master K went into a frenzy, banging at the sides while Lass M and Sir MK just froze in shock. Captain T felt that he had to do something, but he didn't know what!

"hey now!" Mr. L squeaked. "Whoa! What's this! You've lost your mind, Dimentio!"

"Ah ha ha ha ha. Shhhhh. Don't worry. It won't be so bad, I promise."

"Not so bad? ! You're going to kill us all!" roared Sir MK.

"I'll send those heroes your way soon, just so you'll have someone to play with…"

Captain T couldn't take it anymore and nearly knocked Mr. L over, fumbling around in his leader's pockets. He found what he was looking for, however- his yellow-orange wrist watch.

"This is no time to see what time it is!" Master K cried, still banging on the edges of the rectangle. Captain T was hyperventilating now, barely able to even get the watch to work. When he finally did, he started to shout.

"Come in! Team Mario! Team anybody! We're going to DIE!"

Dimentio broke out into a small bit of laughter as he casually snapped his fingers.

. . .

Mario's watch suddenly lit up, blaring out with the message. He literally dropped the Stone Heart on the ground and activated his watch; everyone gathered together and gawked at it.

"What the-?"

A huge explosion echoed out of the communication device and everyone cringed at its loud booming sound. Mario just stared at his watch, wondering what the heck was going on.

"….he…lp…u…s…"

It took a few moments for the message to register, but suddenly Sonic's eyes shot open.

"That…that sounded like TAILS!"

Mario agreed that it sounded like him as well…but what got _him_ riled…

…was the fact that he thought he had heard Luigi screaming in the background.

. . .

"Ciao, Mr. L!"

. . .

The destruction of an entire world was a great and terrible tragedy. But Mario and his allies had survived the cataclysm and found another Pure Heart. The end of that world had dulled the shine of the Pure Heart they had found. Was the Pure Heart's power lost forever? The heroes set out for Flipside to find out…

* * *

**Possibly my second favorite chapter, though I think there's a tie for number one, but neither have happened yet...anyway. Epic chapter, or what? 8)**

**Now there's only the inbetween chapter before Chapter 7 begins! (...or IS there? ! Hmmm...)**


	42. Dark Discoveries and Malicious Murders

Super Paper Mario X

Chapter 41: Dark Discoveries and Malicious Murders

**Previously-**

"…It's time for you to take your final bow, Team Mr. L…"

Dimentio smirked maliciously as a cube surrounded Team Mr. L, the leader suddenly beginning to panic. Master K went into a frenzy, banging at the sides while Lass M and Sir MK just froze in shock. Captain T felt that he had to do something, but he didn't know what!

"Hey now!" Mr. L squeaked. "Whoa! What's this! You've lost your mind, Dimentio!"

"Ah ha ha ha ha. Shhhhh. Don't worry. It won't be so bad, I promise."

"Not so bad? ! You're going to kill us all!" roared Sir MK.

"I'll send those heroes your way soon, just so you'll have someone to play with…"

Captain T couldn't take it anymore and nearly knocked Mr. L over, fumbling around in his pockets. He found what he was looking for, however- his yellow-orange wrist watch.

"This is no time to see what time it is!" Master K cried, still banging on the edges of the rectangle. Captain T was hyperventilating now, barely able to even get the watch to work. When he finally did, he started to shout.

"Come in! Team Mario! Team anybody! We're going to DIE!"

Dimentio broke out into a small bit of laughter as he casually snapped his fingers. The box filled with devastating explosions, the entire team engulfed in its large orange and yellow detonations. The group succumbed almost instantly, Captain T collapsing as he whispered into his watch-

"….he…lp…u…s…"

Dimentio just grinned, proud of what he had just committed. "Ciao, Mr. L!"

. . .

"Yeah, so just got a quick ping from Dimentio? We've had a little insubordination…" Nastasia explained to Count Bleck back at their headquarters sometime later. "Yeah, according to his report, our Mr. L took a hero fighting initiative. I accept full responsibility. It was my administrative breakdown that allowed this."

"I see, remarked Count Bleck…well, what's done is done. The prophecy will not be fulfilled without sacrifice."

"So, 'K…Um, and another quick update on Mimi…Yeah…she, um also left the castle."

"Did she now? Well, Count Bleck will leave you to dispense the minion discipline."

"…Count…um, you seem…a bit different today. New monocle? Or did something happen?"

"Count Bleck feels fine…leave me…"

"Oh, um…of course, yeah…Please excuse me."

She gave a small bow and trotted off, frowning all the while. Count Bleck just kept his back facing her, finally pulling his hat over his eyes when she was gone.

"…Could that Pixl have been…Timpani?" he shook his head, disgusted with the thought. "No, no. Completely impossible. I should know that better than anyone. Besides, it's far too late to do anything now. The prophecy has been set into motion and no one, not even I, can stop it. No one can stop this now…"

He and the Dark Prognosticus teleported out of the room.

_. . ._

_"Timpani! What did you do with her? I must see her!"_

_"Still your tongue, Blumiere…Can't you see you've been duped by a dirty human? You have brought shame to my name…and to the entire Tribe of Darkness!"_

_"And so what if I did? That doesn't matter to me! She's my entire world!"_

_"Well then it will interest you to know…that she no longer resides in this world."_

_"What…what do you mean by that? !"_

_"This is the price those who resist their own fate must pay, my son."_

_"She…no…it can't be so!"_

_"Someday you will see, Son. Our kind and humans must never mix."_

_. . ._

The three teams of heroes had returned to Merlon's house like they said that they would, lost in a torrent of their own thoughts. The end of the world, the Stone Heart, the possibility of something bad happing to their friends…it was a lot to deal with, and they were hoping that Merlon could help ease their stress.

"Oh ho! The heroes return! Tell me, do you have the seventh Pure Heart?"

"Well…maybe you should take a look at it Merlon…" Tippi suggested.

Mario nodded, drabbing it over and struggling to hold it up.

"Mmmm…hmm? What…what happened to it?"

"The Void had consumed that world…and left the Pure Heart like this…"

"Mmmmmmmm…I do not feel the typical energy from this Pure Heart. Even if you set this in a Heart Pillar, it would do nothing. What to do…"

"We were hoping you knew," said Ganondorf.

"Oh…but then how do we save him…" Tippi pondered to herself. She then realized what she said and corrected herself. "I mean…how do we save…_everyone_…from destruction?"

Merlon glanced down at the floor in thought. "To stop this prophecy, we must defeat Count Bleck, who started all of this…but to do that, we will need all eight Pure Hearts, as the Light Prognosticus says. We are between a rock and a hard place…"

"I'd almost think that was funny if I wasn't so upset about all this…" sighed Link.

Right after he said that, the worst possible thing to happen _did_ happen.

"Ah ha ha. The forlorn group of heroes, how they cry! The tears flow like sad chowder!"

Dimentio appeared over their heads, looking innocent, but everyone knew he had evil intentions up his poofy sleeves.

"D-Dimentio? What are you doing here! ?" Peach demanded to know.

"Oh, bad news for you! There is no way in_ this_ world to restore the Pure Heart…" he said in mock-sadness. "Yes, sadly, your hard work was all…in…_vain_."

"Urrgh! Are you serious? That…really stinks!" cried Bowser.

"Ah ha ha. Yes, it does, and that's why I decided to give you a consolation prize…"

His eyes twinkled as all three teams were enveloped in the very same boxes he had did in Team Mr. L with. Without another word, he snapped his fingers, and left them to the explosive death the boxes contained. The Pixls shrieked, Tippi screamed, and Merlon was going absolutely crazy.

"What…just happened! ?"

"Team Mario? ! Team ZAP? ! Team BEG! ?" Tippi cried. "MARIO! ? Where'd you go, Mario? !"

"It's quite simple…" Dimentio chuckled as he floated down to the floor. "I fulfilled their wishes! I sent them to the next world! Ah ha ha. You do know who I am, right? I am your enemy, Dimentio! I serve Count Bleck! Well, as pleasant as this has been, I must leave. Ciao!"

Dimentio disappeared in a mirage of magic, Tippi's voice shaking as she floated gently to the floor.

"It can't be…Mario…no…"

* * *

**Sorry that the Timpani/Blumiere thing was in the middle of the chapter rather than at the beginning- the Nastasia/Bleck thing (plus the flashback) was going to be a chapter all by its lonesome, but both that and the chapter after were ridiculously short so I fused them. ^^;**

**Anywho, it's not looking so good for the heroes...now, some of you may ask, how does our only hope of saving the worlds being wiped clean lead into possibly the best part of the story? Well, you'll have to find out next week. :3**


	43. Til Death Did Us Part

Super Paper Mario X

Chapter 42: Til Death Did Us Part

Mario rested on the ground of some sort, eyes closed and clenched in plain. Despite being somewhat unconscious, he sensed a bad and creepy vibe from whatever territory surrounded him. One other thing registered in his mind- he was alone…no Pixls, no Tippi, no friends…

"WELL, HI!" a voice squealed, scaring Mario just as he had stood back up. A thing made out of several squares and a face that looked like it belong to a carved pumpkin stalked up to Mario, seeming pleased to have met him. "Hey, new face! So tell me…first time down here in The Underwhere?"

Mario was about to ask a question when the thing burst out into laughter.

"…HA! Just a little joke. People don't arrive HERE twice! Hahahahahaha!"

Mario: What's The Underwhere?

"…you're kidding, right? Man, for a guy with no extra lives, you're sure hilarious! Isn't it obvious?" he changed to a dramatic and serious voice. "This is where people go where their games are OVER! Some call it "World -1"…"

Mario: :O

"So how'd your game end, anyway? Poison 1-UP? Bad jump? Or did someone-"

Mario shook his head and explained that, contrary to belief, he wasn't dead after all. The thing rolled its eyes.

"Hahahaha! Yeah, I've heard THAT before. Denial, always the first step. Maybe you just need to hear it from Queen Jaydes. She's the scariest thing in The Underwhere…and that is SAYING something. She rules over us Shaydes, and she'll tell you straight…your game is OVER!" the Shayde remarked. "If you head straight ahead, you'll find Queen Jaydes in her palace. But do NOT get her angry, or you'll end up on bottomless-pit cleanup duty…forever!"

Well, this place was certainly pleasant. If he was "dead", he was pretty sure his friends had to be loitering about somewhere as well…the only thing he had to say was that this place looked_ nothing_ like heaven.

"Hey, how's your after game?" a white-faced Shayde asked him on his way by. "Listen, if you feel tired, take a dip in that fountain. That'll power you right up."

Mario noticed the fountain spraying out what he perceived as orange soda, though he was still a bit wary to test out a random substance in the underworld. The Shayde told him to go ahead, and Mario jumped into the fountain. Like the Shayde had said, his energy was all replenished, and he was feeling a little better.

He passed by some more Shaydes, who were discussing how they had died.

"Boy, if that Micro Goomba hadn't dashed out just as I jumped for that platform-"

"Oh, you swerved in midair, landed on a spiked floor, and ended you game, huh?"

"What? No! What kind of a jumper do you think I am? I cleared the spikes, easy! Then BAM! Bottomless pit."

Mario cringed and kept walking- if death was the common topic around here, he really didn't want to be apart of it. He made it to the farthest end of the area when yet another Shayde stopped him in his tracks.

"Oh, boy, I can tell you're new here. Let me do you a favor and tell you what's up…The River Twygz is up ahead, okay? Be REALLY careful not to drown. Word is, there are ghosts down there that drag you down, never to surface again!"

Mario asked what would happen if a Shayde fell in.

"Well, their aftergame ends! I figure they end up in the post-aftergame or something."

These people were _very_ pleasant.

. . .

Mario entered the door that the last Shayde was standing by, finally glad to simply get out of that first area. But, he didn't get far once again when a soft angelic voice pieced the horrid sounds of The Underwhere.

"Doo bi doo bi doo!"

Mario looked around for the source of the singing, only to find a little girl with heart-shaped wings sitting on a tall pipe. Her hair was done up in a tiny bun, and truth be told, she was sort of cute.

"Ohhh me…I wonder if I shall meet my most special someone this day? Surely he is a prince of countenance fair, pining even now to meet me…" she spread her wings and gazed out over The Underwhere. "Quickly, my loving prince! Fly to me!"

When glanced down, she noticed Mario gaping at her, and she stared back indignantly.

"Pray, what call hast thou to stare at me so? !" she scowled. "Didst thou hear me pine for an old, mustachioed fatty? ! Begone!"

Well then. Mario turned into 3D in a huff, leaving her to…whatever she was doing. In 3D, it revealed that the path forked; one had spikes, and the other did not. Mario also noticed a Dry Bones resting in front of the girl's pipe, and quickly stirred when he saw Mario. Mario jumped on it, turning it back into a pile of bones, but he knew it wouldn't last so he hurried down the spiked path, jumping over the patch of spikes.

Mario then jumped over a small gap in 3D, then turning to the left and jumping over more spikes. Panting now, he avoided a Lava Bubble jumping up from the depths of a bottomless pit and continued on. Leaping over spikes, a gap, and another set of spikes, Mario safely reached the other side of the area. It was a bit of a confusing workout, but he had gotten by it. Before entering the door, he kicked a Dry Bones, hit a dimensional swapping block, climbed onto it, and obtained a Super Shroom Shake perched on top of a pipe. He smiled a little, putting the shake in his pocket and continuing through the door.

. . .

In the next area, Mario discovered the River Twygz that the Shayde was talking about. From where he was standing, it actually looked kind of cool, with a light purple coloring to its waters. However, he learned something a bit more disturbing from Charold, a guy who was standing by the only boat in the river.

"Thisss is the River Twygz…Its watersss are the tearssss of centuriesss of sinnersss…" Mario was slightly having second thoughts about that river now…Charold noticed his fear and spoke up. "For 4 coinsss…I will ferry you to the other ssside…"

It was a miracle that Mario had 'died' with coins in his pocket, because he definitely did not want to go into that river. He gave Charold four coins and climbed in the boat, gazing over the edge.

"Thanksss…now we depart…"

He pushed off with a small stick he had pulled from nowhere, and the boat made its way through the river. Mario stared down into its waters, and now that he was closer to it, he could tell the river grew darker the deeper you went…and if you went in there in the first place, you'd be dragged to the bottom, if what the Shayde said was true. When Mario reached the other side, he hopped off the boat and turned back to Charold, who climbed out as well and murmured, "…sssee you."

Mario shivered and entered through the next door.

. . .

Once he made it past the frightening river, Mario believed he had found the palace of Queen Jaydes. A huge stone building rested before him, though Mario felt that 'building' wasn't the right term to describe it. Up the steps were purple men in business suits, and the first one Mario saw instantly spoke up.

"Hi, how are ya, good, great. I'm a D-Man, prime go-getter and faithful queen's servant. You wanna see the queen, you gotta MOVE, kid, OK? She's real busy. Oh, and here's a tip: she knows all the bad stuff you did before you game ended. So don't play that "I'm-a-hero" stuff down here. Just warning ya kid!"

Mario blinked, thinking about all the bad things he had done in his life while making his way to the queen. It would be ironic if he _did_ end up saying that he was a hero, considering that he _was_. When he reached her- well, he accidentally bumped into her…

"You…what business have you with me?" Queen Jaydes growled, looking down at Mario through beady dark purple eyes. She had a tall dark pink crown that faded to black at the tips, a gradiented purple dress that curled up at the sides, a lavender face, and a long jagged collar that matched her crown. "I am Queen Jaydes. Mistress of The Underwhere! Ruler of those with ended games!"

Mario just nodded in response- after looking at her, he definitely agreed with whoever had told him not to make her mad.

"Here, in this place, your sins from your time among the living are weighed. If yours sins are light enough, the bliss of The Overthere will be yours. But if not…You suffer for eternity among the game-overed! Now let us weight your sins…"

Just as she went to do so, she noticed something odd about Mario and squinted at him.

"Hmmm? I sense a strange energy…have you brought something strange into The Underwhere, by chance?"

Mario looked thoughtful, then remembered the Stone Heart. He fumbled around in his hammerspace, a bit surprised to find that it was still on his person. He struggled to hold it up as Jaydes suddenly started shaking.

"What is THIS! ?" she inched closer to Mario to get a better look. "No, no…It could not be...but, how…It is badly damaged, yes…but what you hold is a Pure Heart! Who exactly ARE you, to have a Pure Heart…and what has happened to it?"

Right before Mario could even explain, Jaydes' cellphone started to ring, and now he was questioning…just _why? !_

"Oh, wait, that is my phone…sorry, I have to take this." She turned away and answered her phone. "What is it NOW, Grams? You know I am working…"

As she chatted away, Mario fell forward from the weight of the Stone Heart. Grumbling to himself, he shook the pain away from his hands. He really wanted that heart to get fixed soon; he was tired of lugging it around.

Apparently someone heard the large thud the Pure Heart made, because they came running around the palace and flew right in front of Mario.

"Why in the world do you have a _rock?"_ the boy asked, staring at it. "It made a dent in the ground!"

Mario was about to say that it wasn't his fault when he glanced up at who it was and went slack jawed. The boy was struggling to pick up the Heart, but he was having as much trouble as Mario probably did.

"Jeez, this this is heavy…watch where you toss your rock next t- M-MARIO! ? What in this world are _you_ doing here?"

Mario: I got a "game over".

"Oh _ha_," Tails scoffed, giving up on moving the Heart and sitting next to him. "That's why I'm here too, I guess…otherwise, well, we wouldn't be here!"

Mario asked him why he was at Jaydes' palace, and he gave a sheepish grin.

"I was told to come here…she measured my wrong-doings, and they were perfectly balanced with my good-doings! How weird is that? …then she also learned that I'm not really dead, and I was waiting in the back for something else to happen, and then I heard the thud, and I'm starting to sound like Kirby-"

Mario silenced him and explained that everyone else had gotten "game overs" as well, but he didn't know where anyone was. Tails then gasped and pulled his watch out. For whatever reason, it hadn't been on his wrist…

"I can possibly find my team members with my watch, if they're here too…" he said. Tails then smiled unsurely. "I…I fixed them, so they have long distance again…I'll fix yours too Mario if you'd li-"

"WHAT! ?" Tails was cutoff by Jaydes' stunned scream. "LUVBI IS MISSING? ! Oh, mercy…I understand. Yes, yes. I will see to it. Mmmmm-bye."

She hung up, and noticed Mario and Tails staring curiously at her. She was still obviously all up in a bunch about whatever the phone call was about.

"Just great. Just what I need. I am already shorthanded…what am I going to do?"

Jaydes took a second look at Mario and Tails, and now _they_ were worried too.

"Oh! Perhaps you two can help! That phone call I received just now? It was the king of The Overthere, Grambi…One of the Nimbis vanished from The Overthere, and he asked me to look for her. But I cannot abandon my duties herein the palace…and my D-Men are all busy…so it must fall to you! Will you search for this missing person in my place?"

"Um…" Tails trailed, scratching the back of his head. "I guess we could…"

Mario shrugged. They were "dead"; they had nothing better to do.

"Oh, thank you so very much. I apologize for asking this of you, but it would really help. The name of the missing Nimbi is Luvbi. Oh…are what are your names?"

"Well, you already know I'm Miles Prower," Tails grumbled as Jaydes smirked slightly. "You just _had_ to remind me…"

Mario: It's-a me, Mario!

"Mario…well, Mario…may I hold on to this Pure Heart while you are busy searching?"

She easily lifted the Pure Heart off the ground, but Mario still didn't feel good about just letting her take it.

"Worry not, I just want a look. I will return it when YOU return with Luvbi. And in its place, allow me to give you this."

She handed Tails a triangular purple key, and Mario wanted to know how a key was supposed to replace a Pure Heart.

"Word has reached me that someone has fell into the River Twygz. Some said it was a strange fellow dressed in green…that could not be Luvbi…"

Mario: Luigi!

Tails: Link!

The two exchanged confused glances- it was most likely one of the two.

"Still, just in case, I would suggest that you check there first. This key will open a door to the underground waterways beneath the River Twygz."

River Twygz? Count Mario out.

"Please, I must ask that you search the area thoroughly."

"We'll do our best…" Tails promised. "But…man, why'd that fool had to fall in that river? ! Now _we_ have to go in it!"

Mario: I know, right?

. . .

The duo exited the door Mario had entered from, Mario find Charold right where he had left him. He winced slightly- he did _not_ want to go swimming in centuries worth of tears…

"C'mon Mario! If anything goes wrong, I can just swim us out of there," Tails informed. "I'm a pretty good swimmer, you know."

It wasn't really the swimming Mario was worried about, but he thought again- this was for either Link or Luigi! …Or Mr. L, he gulped in the back of his mind, now that he thought about it. Nevertheless, Mario took the daring plunge into the river, splashing Tails and Charold.

"That guy isss crazzzy…" Charold hissed to himself.

"Then so am I," Tails gulped, diving in as well.

. . .

Mario had barely gotten anywhere when he saw something that scared just about everything out of him- a floating skeletal hand, swimming around and almost grabbing his leg. He recoiled back instantly and looked around- the hands were everywhere…

"Boy, that's not creepy or anything…" Tails trembled, seeing the hands as well. "L-Let's just keep going…"

Mario nodded reluctantly and continued to allow himself to sink. Like he had noticed when he was boating, the river got darker the deeper they went…and soon, the creepy sounds of The Underwhere were replaced by warped noises of River Twygz. The sounds of The Underwhere were like beautiful music compared to this torture…

"Nrrr…" Tails shivered. "M-Mario…I hear voices!"

Mario asked what they were saying, even though he wasn't entirely sure if he really wanted to know.

"They're saying… "come in…into the river…" and "This is…the end…". I hear other things too, but they're not as clear…"

Mario noticed that their water around them was pitch blue (not quite pitch black), there was no sign of a door, and Tails could feel that those Underhands were coming for them… Mario told Tails that he was taking control, despite the fact that the fox had no idea what that meant, and turned into 3D.

"Augh! Mario, where'd you go? !"

Now in the other dimension, Mario had found what Jaydes had been talking about- a hole in the bottom of the river led to a locked door. Once he was in front of the locked door, Mario returned to 2D, and Tails popped up next to him.

"hey! …how'd I get here?"

Mario: Long story.

He took the key from Tails and placed it in the lock, allowing access into the waterways. The duo entered the door before the Underhands could get their hands on them.

. . .

"At least we're out of the river now…" Tails sighed in relief. The waterways were, needless to say, full of water. He and Tails were going to have to swim through to find the guy who fell into the river. They narrowly avoided an Underhand lurking around the corner, and they both bolted through the water to get away. Tails swam so fast, he accidentally slammed into a block perched on top of the ledge, and unintentionally pushed it off.

"Um…oops?"

Mario poked his head over the edge- the block landed right in front of a pipe, and a red switch. Curious, he swam down and pulled the lever of the switch. All the water in the area went down the drain, and Tails suddenly found his fur soaked.

"Oh great…"

Mario's clothes weren't in the best of shape either. While the plumber used the block and the pipe to climb onto the next ledge, Tails simply spun his tails and flew to the other side. That's when Mario remembered that the members of Team Luigi were known for their ability to reach certain heights…

"Stay down there, Mario! We'll…well, you'll need the water again," Tails stated.

Mario wasn't sure on what Tails had meant, but when he heard a wrench breaking brick blocks, he figured that he wouldn't be able to advance any farther.

"Throw the switch!"

Mario jumped back down and landed in front of the switch, doing just what Tails had said. The water filled the area back up, and when Mario swam to meet with Tails, he realized that he really wouldn't have been able to get by without the water.

"I could've flown us up, now that I think about it…" Tails pondered. "But we may need the water for some other puzzle this place wants to throw at us, so we can't advance too fast."

Mario assumed that he was probably right, and swam onward. However, when they reach the end of the path, it was a dead end. Mario thought it over for a few moments before lifting his arms and flipping into 3D.

"Mario, at least give me some warning when ya disappear!"

Mario, despite being in the other dimension, had heard him, and he grinned nervously. In 3D he found it that the dead end wasn't dead at all- there was a secret path that couldn't be seen in 2D! Mario walked on through, poking his head around the corners to make sure no Underhands were going to reach out and grab him. When the coast was clear, Mario returned to 2D.

"That is so weird! How do you do that?" Tails gaped. Mario said that he wasn't really sure himself. He then glanced down- a pipe, a hand, and a block were at the bottom of the larger area, and they both knew that they couldn't hit the block with water everywhere, and the hand would disappear if the water was gone. "That means there's probably another switch somewhere."

Mario nodded, and the two swam onward. The place didn't look all that important, so Mario probably wouldn't return unless it was absolutely necessary. The following area had a pipe, a switch, and a block in a place where they couldn't push it. But if they just went down and hit the switch, then Mario wouldn't be able to get back out. Mario knew that he could go into 3D, get behind the block, and push it out, but Tails suggested that he would fly Mario out, so he shrugged and threw the switch anyway. Tails then grabbed his wrist and flew him up over the pipe and back onto the ledge. Mario did end up returning to the first area, and when Tails hit the block, it only revealed a ladder.

"hmm…we're stuck again…" Tails trailed thoughtfully. Mario told Tails he was teleporting into 3D again, and Tails gave him the okay. Once he did, Mario located another hidden path. Mario returned to 2D and discovered a pipe and a door in the small room.

"Which one do you think is the way out?" Tails asked.

Mario: The door. *goes down pipe*

. . .

"Why did you- Ooh, coins!"

Tails jumped onto the long row of blocks and flew down the line of coins while Mario hit the blocks, colleting a few coins as well. When they cleaned the room out, they exited the pipe and vanished through the door.

. . .

"Whoa…weird place…" Tails exclaimed as Mario claimed a Dry Bones card hidden under a cliff. "Do you see the green guy, Mario?"

Mario: No.

Three geysers fountains of "orange soda" erupted out of the ground, and by jumping across them would give you access to a far-off area. Tails jumped down onto the first one and started laughing.

"Hey, this is kind of fun!"

Mario leapt after him, each geyser being higher than the next. When Mario reached the last one, he jumped up, and Tails caught him and swung him onto the next cliff. They both suddenly heard shivering.

"Unnnnngggghhh…"

"What in the world…" Tails trailed as they approached the source. They found someone dressed in green cowering behind a rock.

"Oh boy! How'd I end up in this stinky place? Count Bleck's underlings grabbed me, I remember that…Then…and then…"

Tails gasped under his breath. "You…don't remember…?"

"Owaahhh…oh, FORGET IT! I just wish somebody would come and help me!"

Mario: Salvation is here!

Luigi suddenly heard the voice, pulled his head up from behind the rock, and cried out with a "WAAAAAH!" that made Mario and Tails jump back a few places. Luigi then saw just who he was face to face with and nearly fainted.

"Buh…BRO? !"

Mario nodded. Now excited, Luigi threw up his hands and cheered.

"OH YEAH! I missed you, Bro!"

Mario had to admit, he missed Luigi too. Tails then started jumping up and down and waving his hands.

"'Ello? What about me?"

"Tails? ! You're here too? !" Luigi gasped. Tails nodded and gave Luigi a high five.

"Great to see ya again! Though I didn't think it'd be in a place like here…"

"Me neither!"

"So…um…h-how'd you get here?"

Luigi shrugged. "Well, I don't really know…I mean, where am I exactly?"

Mario: The Underwhere, the land of ended games.

Luigi started to panic. "Bro, what are you SAYING? ! What does it all MEAN! ?"

"Um, we died?" Tails pointed out helpfully.

"Uh hunh…OK, I gotcha. So my game is over…Great. I guess one of Count Bleck's baddies must've done me in, just like you guys, huh?"

Mario shook his head- only Luigi could be this calm about getting a game over.

"You don't remember how you died?" Tails gaped. "You don't remember _anything_ after Count Bleck's goons attacked you? _Nothing_ after that?"

Luigi shook his head. "Nope, so I'm guessing they got me while I was in the castle."

Tails frowned slightly. "Oh…so you…uh, okay…"

"Why? Is there anything you know about it?"

"_NOPE_- I mean, eh, how would I know? I just kicked the bucket like you two, I suppose…"

"Oh, okay. Everybody runs out of extra lives sometimes, right? So what should we do now?"

Mario explained that they were looking for someone named Luvbi. Tails nodded to confirmed this.

"Hey, sounds good to me! I'm loaded with free time! After all, my game's over!"

Mario glanced around, waiting for an introduction, but then realized that Link was still missing. It looked like he was going to have to do it himself…

Mario: Luigi has joined the team! He can put a huge spring in his step, being able to go up to higher heights than Mario! When Team Luigi takes control, he can use his jumping skills to get to higher areas. His battle ability is having an unusually high jump attack, but the more he uses it, the more likely he is to fail due to his lack of traction.

"Whoa, cool Bro! Sounds like something Link would do though…"

Mario face palmed as Tails asked for an intro too.

Mario: Tails has joined the team! He can fix anything that needs to be fixed, most noticeably our watches...also, when Team Luigi takes control, Tails uses his namesakes to fly up to decent heights. He can think up solutions quite quickly as well. His battle ability is being able to occasionally attack twice.

"Well, that takes care of that!" Tails declared. "Now let's go find Luvbi!"

"Oh, that involves us going through that river…" Luigi winced.

"Calm down! We swam through it once, you'll be fine!"

An encouraging pat on the back from his brother was enough to get Luigi to move.

"I was feeling pretty low, Bro, but not that you're here, I wanna jump for joy!" he stepped forward and struck a dramatic pose. "This looks like a job for Luigi!"

"Don'tcha mean Team Luigi?" Tails asked.

"Yeah, but I'm still not quite used to the fact that _I_ have a team…"

"Speaking of that…" Tails held up Mario's wrist and removed his red watch. "I've got to fix your watch Mario!"

"Why, what was wrong with it?"

"Well, all the forced teleportation messed with everyone watches," Tails explained, pulling out his screwdriver and making a few small adjustments to Mario's watch. "Knuckles and I were trying to find everyone when we learned all the worlds were in danger, but it turns out everyone was in The Void or in-between dimensions at the time. Tried contacting people, it didn't work! And then…oh no _Samus_!"

He turned to Mario with a frightened face.

"There was nothing on her screen! Something must've happened to her suit, but I don't know-"

Mario: Dimentio broke her Power Suit.

"Whaaaat! ?"

"Who's Dimentio?" Luigi asked quietly.

"Some weird jester guy that pushed Sonic into Amy and made them get married and prevented Knuckles and I from helping," Tails explained before turning back to Mario. "Now, Dimentio did that! ?"

Mario: Oh yeah!

He then wove the tale of how they found Samus on Planet Blobule, and how she told them that Dimentio paralyzed her suit and cause it to blow up upon itself while she was stuck using the Zero Laser. She was fine, but her suit was scattered all across space. Tails blinked, then smacked his head.

_"Duh…_he_ found her Arm Cannon…"_

"Is there something I'm missing?" Luigi asked. Tails nodded while Mario explained how it was a long story. "Aw man…all I did was screw up saving the day, wake up and learn my game's over, and now I can't remember anything important and I don't know what's going on."

"Don't worry Luigi," Tails assured. "Everything will be explained to you soon, and I'm sure Mario has a big tale to tell."

Mario groaned and nodded, saying he would explain as they went. Luigi looked thoughtful then nodded as well.

"Oh…okay…I just don't want to be totally out of the loop."

Tails then finished fixing Mario's watch and handed it back to him. "There ya go! Now you can talk at long distance too! Only thing is, you can only talk to members of Team Luigi, because those are the only other watches I fixed."

"When did you do that?" Luigi asked, staring at his own watch. "I ran into Malon before I got ambushed, and she said her watch didn't work…"

"Um, I uh…I found everyone, um, after you went missing, fixed their watches, and then we were attacked…so they're definitely here as well and we can contact them."

Mario found Tails acting very shifty, but he wasn't going to question it. If Luigi and Tails were the only teammates he had right now, then he was going to take it. When Mario's watch was fastened firmly back onto his wrist, Tails pressed the button on his own.

"Okay…let's see if we can find anyone first…"

Tails poked around at his watch, Mario and Luigi looking over his shoulders.

"Okay, so I've only got the whereabouts about Malon, Meta Knight, and Knuckles…Knuckles looks like he's in The Underwhere somewhere too, but Malon and Meta Knight look like they're in the sky…which I'm guessing is the Overthere."

"Well? Try to contact them!" Luigi exclaimed.

"Hold on…okay. I'll try Knuckles first since he's the closest…"

"Sounds good."

"Knuckles? This is Tails- can you hear me?"

Silence, then a faint crackling. Then…Knuckles' gruff voice came out from the other end.

"Yeah, I can hear you."

"YEAH! YOU DID IT!" cheered Luigi, jumping around excitedly.

"Hey, is Thunder with you, Tails?"

"Yeah, Luigi's here too, and so is Mario!"

Mario: Thunder?

Luigi shook his head. "Don't ask, please."

"That was my fault," Tails admitted. "Anyway, Knuckles, where are you?"

"How am I supposed to know? It's dark here, I ran into random objects like seven times, and I swear something just reached out and grabbed me…"

"It might've been an Underhand…"

"Under what?"

"Never mind, but just stay where you are! Mario, Luigi, and I are coming to get you!"

"Yeah, that won't be too hard. I'm stuck in the dark."

"Your watch should have a built-in light _and_ be able to glow in the dark!"

"…really?"

Tails just shook his head while Luigi sweat dropped. "…We'll be there soon and we'll fill you in on everything, alright?"

"Just don't go bashing down a wall until we find you, okay?" Luigi added.

"I told you, I'm not a mindless wrecking machine and I-"

Tails hung up and he and Luigi started to chuckle.

"He didn't even ask us where we were or what had happened!"

"Classic Knuckles…"

"I'm surprised he wasn't wondering where his Master Emerald was!"

As they continued to snicker, Mario smirked and pointed to the door on top of the other ledge- they still needed to get out, and Mario couldn't use the geysers to jump back up… Luigi struck another pose and looked proud of himself.

"Just leave this to us, Mario. It's our specialty!"

At the base of the cliff Mario and Tails had jumped down from, Luigi stood and started to crouch down into a spring. Mario watched, impressed, as he uncoiled himself and went flying into the air, leaping forward when he went as high as he could go and landing on the platform. Mario could only do something like_ that_ if he had a pair of Ultra Boots.

"What didja think, Bro?"

Mario gave a thumbs up as Tails carried him up to the top. Luigi beamed, then took off through the door. With Luigi on the team, Mario taught him how to take control, and why the others always popped up next to you when you were done. Using the technique, Luigi and Tails were able to easily navigate the waterways and made it back to River Twygz.

. . .

"Uh-nuh-nuh-nuh…" was the sound of Luigi's teeth chattering when they returned to the bottom of the river.

"What's wrong, Luigi? Cold?"

"No, just terrified…"

"At least you're not able to hear the whispers of the things down here!"

"I will admit I'm lucky for that, but I still feel absolutely scarred from being in this river."

They hurried to swim to the top, scrambling away from Underhands trying to latch onto them and prevent them from escaping. When the river turned purple again, Mario knew they were near the surface, and Luigi and Tails were out of there in a flash!…and a splash.

"Okay…any idea of where to look for this Luvbi character?" Luigi asked, once they were all on the left side of the river.

"Queen Jaydes said she was a Nimbi," Tails recalled.

"…it would help if I knew what one looked like."

"Sorta like a chibi angel, only without the halo, I guess," Tails shrugged. "They're what live in the Overthere, the opposite of the Shaydes that live in The Underwhere. I think we'll know her when we see her."

Mario pondered over Tails' description, and he suddenly had a very good idea of where, and who, Luvbi might possibly be…

. . .

Mario was now doubly thankful for having Luigi and Tails around, because it made getting past The Underwhere's constricting maze with the spikes a lot easier. Tails just grabbed Mario and carried him over all the obstacles while Luigi bounded over them all without breaking a sweat. The only thing about Luigi was that his traction was still off, and he had a few close calls with some pits and spikes.

"I have got to work on this…" he wheezed, standing on the very edge of a pit. "I need landing practice…"

"So, where exactly did you see the butterfly-winged girl?" Tails asked, searching around. Mario pointed forward, right at the pipe where the girl was once singing, but…now she wasn't there.

"Well that stinks," Luigi stated, landing next to them abruptly. "Where do you think she went?"

Mario was about to shrug when he noticed what seemed like an area he hadn't noticed before…probably because he wasn't able to reach it. He ran past the door toward two pipes standing next to each other and pointing upwards.

"You think she's up there, Bro?"

Mario: Oh yes!

"I guess it's worth a shot," Tails decided, grabbing Mario again. "We've looked everywhere else in the Underwhere…"

"Sounds okay to me!" Luigi said, jumping up and bounding over the pipes. When he slip-landed in the upper area of the Underwhere, he prepared to leap over a large pipe…until a Frost Piranha sprung out of it and froze the very air around it.

"Nyeah…I dunno if I wanna risk it…" he muttered.

"I've got it!" Tails called, dropping Mario next to his brother and flying toward the Frost Piranha. He withdrew his wrench, then when he was close enough to the Piranha, he spun around slightly and struck it in the side. Then when it lurched forward, Tails bashed it on the top of its head and defeated it. It dropped an Ice Storm, which Tails quickly picked up as a sign of his victory.

"Good job Tails," Luigi congratulated as he jumped over the pipe while hanging onto Mario.

"It was nothing," Tails shrugged off.

Tails carried Mario again as Luigi continued on ahead. He took out a Piranha in a pipe by himself, springing up and charging his head into the enemy, killing it instantly. He then danced over a bed of spikes and Dry Bones, hitting a ? Block that Mario wouldn't have normally been able to reach. Meanwhile, Tails dropped Mario, who then proceeded to land on a poison Cherbil and stylishly defeat it. He told Tails that he was fine now, and made the majority of the rest of the trip in 3D. Luigi whistled.

"Whoa, even my Bro can teleport now!"

Yeah, he's been doing that ever since we teamed up," Tails explained.

"Hey…we contacted Knuckles…maybe we could try Meta Knight now? Just to see if he's all right…"

"Alright," Tails agreed, pushing buttons on his watch again. They stopped fighting their way through the Underwhere to contact Meta Knight, Luigi watching closely. However, when Tails sent the message, no one answered…

"Uh no…" Luigi trembled.

"Calm down, I bet he just hasn't awoke since he landed in the Overthere," Tails said simply. "We'll give him a little more time to get up, then we'll contact him again."

"If you say so…"

When Luigi and Tails caught up with Mario (and obtained a Peach (3) card after a series of pipe traveling), he was waiting patiently in front of a red-rainbow door, and the duo just grinned innocently. Mario rolled his eyes, but while grinning, and entered the next door.

. . .

"Doo bi doo bi doo…"

When Mario heard the song he frantically pointed forward and ran ahead.

"Is_ that_ the girl you were talking about?" Luigi asked, trying to keep up. Mario nodded several times, flipping into 3D constantly to avoid the pipes while Luigi and Tails easily went over them. Mario called them lucky in the back of his mind, but right now he was focused on, well, finding the girl that made fun of him.

At the end of the path with pipes filled with Frost Piranhas sat the girl Mario had ran into before, perched on the farthest pipe musing to herself and not even noticing the trio of males wondering if she was who they were looking for.

"Oh, hurry…hasten to me…Sweet prince…" she sang softly. Mario walked up to her and waving, succeeding in getting her attention in the form of a scowl. "Foulness! An aging man of mustache grim returneth! Talk not to me as though we have met! Speak, now! What dost thou want of me? !"

"W-We came to find you…" Luigi explained.

"Thou came hither to find me? Pah!" she spat acidly. "As if I would consort with faces so behaired!"

"I can't help that, but I dunno about the other two..." Tails retorted.

"I await a handsome prince! Understand? PRINCES ONLY! Oh, but hold on a minute…ha HA! Dost thou claim to the prince for whom I pine?"

Mario: Uh, no-

"Priceless…Yea, verily…very well then, good 'princes'. Let us confirm thy lineage. If thou art my prince, then thou knowest my name. Speak it to mine ears! If the name is true, then I shall admit thou art mine one and only."

Luigi fiddled nervously with his hat. "Well, I'm not your prince, but I think it's safe to say your name is-"

Mario: Luvbi.

"Ha HA! In thy FACE! My name is not Luv-" she literally stopped on a dime, suddenly looking chagrined. Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. "WHAAAAAT? H-H-how hast thou come by the knowledge of my name? ! No… Doth this mean…?"

"What's got her riled up?"

"It's not like she's going to lose her powers or something because we guessed her name."

"Nay! Nay! Such foulness! The very thought cannot be abided! I cannot date a man so old and unpleasant to the eye!"

"We don't even know what you're talking about!" Tails cried while Mario was looking highly offended. Luvbi fluttered her wings and flew off in a frustrated huff.

"I shall return to Mother! GAAAAAG!"

The trio just stared at each other confusedly.

"…well, I guess we found Luvbi," Tails laughed nervously.

**Back at Jaydes' Palace-**

"HA! At last thou appearest, foul, hairy creatures!" Luvbi shouted at them as soon as they arrived on the scene. She was standing next to her mother, glaring angrily at the arrivals. "Thou art no princes! Thou art LIARS! Thou approachest me at my mother's behest!"

"Luvbi! Mind your manners!" Jaydes ordered, glowering down at her daughter. "You know this all happened because you wandered off without permission! Now! Apologize to these nice men at once!"

Luvbi lowered her head in shame. "Uh, yea…So, um, yea, I am sorry…that thou art so hairy."

Mario: Say what.

"Oh, Luvbi…" sighed Jaydes. "You had us all so very worried. Mario. Please accept this as a sign of my eternal thanks. Here."

She smiled as she returned the seventh Pure Heart to Mario, this time not as hard as a rock. Mario grinned as it was placed back in his possession while Tails gaped at it.

"Whoa, was that the rock you had?" Mario nodded. "I didn't know it would end up so pretty!"

"We got a revitalized Pure heart!" cheered Luigi, getting weird looks from Mario and Tails. "…W-What? That's what it is, isn't it?"

"I have power over life and death, you see," Jaydes explained. "And I was able to use that power to restore this Pure Heart. I know not how you found it, but this Pure Heart shows that fate is on your side."

"Well for us, it always feels like that," Tails said humbly.

"Take good care of it."

Mario: Yeah!

"Oh, and by the way, it may please you to know that your game is not truly over. Somehow, you were sent to the Underwhere while still very much alive…"

"We were teleported here, then," Tails scowled under his breath.

"My power can return you to your world if you so wish…would you like to do so?"

"Yeah! Let's get out of here!" Tails cried, switching gears.

"But what about the others?" Luigi asked. "They're still here as well…"

Mario said that if they were still alive, the others were as well, and he believed that they would be able to come back too.

"You sure, Bro?" Mario gave a thumbs up. "Okay, I'll trust you. Jaydes, return us!"

"Then I shall return you." Her jagged collar spread out even larger than before as she started to sing some sort of chant, Luvbi watching curiously from the sidelines. "Mmmmmmmmm…Jaydes, Jaydes, JA-JAYDES! OOOOOOOOOH! GAME OVER… CONTINUE!"

A dark pink star suddenly appeared on the wall of the palace, also matching Queen Jaydes' color scheme. Mario, Luigi, and Tails suddenly felt themselves being lifted by an unknown force, being pulled closer to the center of the star portal.

They disappeared in a flash of white, their games officially being continued.

* * *

**After a week of battling with my unresponsive computer, I managed to remember this and get it edited. :P**

**(Good thing, too. I enjoy this chapter and the one after the next one.)**


	44. Alive Again!

Super Paper Mario X

Chapter 44: Alive Again!

Mario, Luigi, and Tails landed on Flipside Tower, right in front of the place where the seventh door should've been. Groaning, they all stood up, glancing at each other several times and trying to make sense of things. It wasn't until Mario heard a familiar voice call his name that something actually happened.

Merlon, Tippi, and all the Pixls came running up to the trio, all eleven Pixls (including Tippi) circling Mario so much that he started to float in the air along with them. He chuckled to himself while Luigi and Tails wondered what was going on.

"You're alive!" Tippi laughed in disbelief.

"M-M-M-MARIO? !" Merlon bellowed as well. "But I saw Dimentio end your game…then Tippi said you were here, so I though I'd come and take a look, but…Wow…you're truly alive…"

Mario: In the living flesh!

"You know my bro always bounces back!" Luigi boasted. "Like me! I bounce, too!"

Tippi stared at the duobeside Mario, wondering why they were with him in the first place. "Um…and you are?"

Before Luigi, Tails, or even Mario could answer, Merlon took over the conversation. "We can introduce ourselves later! For now, let's into my house!"

The group shrugged and trotted after the wizard back to his house.

**Merlon's house-**

"So that's how you did it, then…" Tippi trailed, once Mario told the story.

"So hi, I'm Luigi! I'm my bro's bro! Nice to meet you!"

"And I'm Tails! Hey! I'm a good friend of Sonic's, Luigi's…and just about everyone else you've apparently met. I'm the third member of Team Luigi, counting Luigi of course!"

"Haven't we met somewhere before?" Tippi asked. Tails nearly choked on his own breathing while Luigi calmly thought it over.

"Oh boy, not that I remember, but-"

"Nope! We've never met you before, I'm sure!" Tails exclaimed loudly. Tippi blinked.

"Uh, okay…"

"That's right, butterfly, never seen you before…this is our first meeting!"

Mario interrupted by pointing something out that was forgotten awhile ago. Tippi gasped and nodded, forgetting about Tails' weird behavior.

"Is it possible that you're our fourth team of heroes?" she wondered aloud. Luigi and Tails shrugged.

"Funny you should say that…I just found this interesting bit in the Light Prognosticus…"The seventh lost Pure Heart will draw together two men, and when the light returns, its brilliance will show the way to the last set of heroes." Yes, as Tippi said, I think this fellow in green may be the leader of our final team of heroes!" Merlon recited.

Something clicked in the back of Mario's mind…Luigi wore green too, meaning that his own brother could possibly the Man in Green just as well as Link could be! But, just like Link, there wasn't much proof, so Mario set aside this theory…for now.

"Mario…I never stopped believing you would return…" Tippi told him, almost breathless. "But Princess Peach and Bowser and the rest of them…"

"Mario said that if we could come back, then they could as well," Luigi said with Mario nodding proudly in the background.

"But first, let's find a Heart Pillar where we can set this Pure Heart," Tippi stated.

Mario: Yeah!

"Not too sure what that means, but alright!" Tails cheered, exiting the house. He turned to Tippi. "So…what's your name and what exactly are you?"

"My name's Tippi. I'm a Pixl!" she replied. "I can tell you about anything you'd like to know and I can find things you normally wouldn't see. I'm free for use by everyone, but Princess Peach favors me the most."

"What's a Pixl?" Luigi asked, only to be bombarded by the rainbow of Pixls Mario possessed.

"That's us!" they all cheered.

"Huh, interesting…" Tails trailed. "This'll probably be a _pain_ to ask, but what are your names?"

"No, no trouble at all!" Thoreau assured. "We hardly get a chance to talk anyway. My glorious name is Thoreau. I'm Mario's Pixl! Throw me and I can pick up just about anything and toss it with gusto!"

Mario backed up the claim by saying that Thoreau was actually quite useful.

"I'm Boomer, sss-POW! I'm Link's Pixl, and I obviously function like a bomb, sss-BOOM!"

"Howdy, I'm Slim!" Slim cried, twirling around like crazy. "I'm Kirby's first Pixl- well, the first Pixl that he wanted for himself. I can slenderize you, yesiree! Just gimme a call, an' I'd be happy to help, yee-haw!"

"I'm Thudley, the Pixl Bowser uses? He's got some serious girth man! He's so girthy that I let him use my power to ground pound things into pancakes!"

"Ooh, we're onto me!" cheered Carrie. "I'm Carrie, I'm the very first female Pixl, which is a big thing, and I guess I'm Samus Aran's Pixl now! All you have to do is ask, and I'll transform into a platform and carry you over anything!"

"Wow, you all sound pretty cool so far!" Luigi laughed.

"I know! Can you believe there's people out there that don't even like us?" Carrie asked. "We're just not good enough! Only heroes understand our full potential!"

"Exactly! Who wouldn't like yours truly, Dashell? Seriously! I make things go super-fast, and who doesn't enjoy that? That's why I'm the perfect Pixl for Sonic the Hedgehog!"

"So you're Sonic's Pixl!" Tails exclaimed, with Dashell nodding.

"Yeah, we've both got a huge lust for life, and that's what drew us together after Kirby freed me. Yeah!"

"Then I guess I came along," shrugged Barry. "Barry's my name, and I can superguard against just about everything! That's why Kirby took me in as his second Pixl."

"And I'm Fleep, amore, amore! For whatever reason, Dr. Eggman picked me, even though all I can do is pull in things sealed in other dimensions, amore! 'Tis true, si!"

"Then I'm Cudge, and I'm AWESOME! I've got a hankerin' for hammerin', which is why me and Amy Rose go hand in hand, I s'pose…"

"Dottie is my name," said the spherical Pixl, smiling softly. She circled around Tails, getting him to laugh a little. "I picked Ganondorf to travel with because his aura could use some shrinking, if you know what I mean…"

"And my name is Piccolo!" she sang. "I might not seem very useful, but I'm very entertaining! I'm Princess Zelda's Pixl, and I can heal you from curses, put foes to sleep, and allow the music of your spirit to come to life!"

"And that's all of them…" Tippi finished. Luigi whistled.

"Feel free to use any of us!" Piccolo giggled.

"At least, until the other heroes return," Thoreau shrugged.

"Man, my team and I was totally left out…" Luigi sighed. "Where were we the entire time?"

"You don't wanna know…" Tails muttered under his breath. "But anyway, Tippi said something about a Heart Pillar? Know anything about where to look by perchance, Mario?"

Mario looked thoughtful for a few moments, then snapped his fingers and ran for the blue pipe that lead to Flopside. Luigi and Tails exchanged looks before following him.

**Flopside 1st Floor Outskirts-**

"Eh, Mario? Why does this place resemble a backward Flipside?"

"Because it's supposed to," Tippi replied confidently.

Mario literally plowed on, going toward where he had found the third Pure Heart Pillar…only in reverse. Sure enough, when he went far enough, it resembled the area where they had ran into Kirby. The only difference was that there was no slot to use Slim on…but there was an opening at the top of the wall. Mario gave Luigi specific instruction- take the Pure Heart, jump over the wall, and place it into the Pillar.

"Whatever you say, Bro…" Luigi puffed, clutching the purple Pure Heart to his chest as he sprung himself over the wall. When he landed, that was when he laid his eyes on a Heart Pillar for the very first time. It was so tall and…white. Luigi saw the heart shaped slot in it and raised the Pure Heart to put it in, but to his shock it floated out of his hands and placed itself.

"Uh-uh, is that supposed to happen? !"

His fear then melted away as the purple designs lit up the area, the plumber watching in awe. As he gaped, the seventh door, the purple door, emerged into existence at Flipside Tower. When the light show stopped, Luigi whistled.

"Wow, that was sure pretty!"

"Man! Now I wanted to see it!" complained Tails.

"That was the seventh…now there's just a single Pure Heart left to find…" Tippi mused. Luigi's jaw fell open.

"What! ? Only one more! ? How come I only arrive after the party's over, huh? That's so…not fair!"

"Well it didn't help that no one knew where you were the entire time," Barry stated as if it was obvious. Luigi quivered and glanced at the ground. Tippi was oblivious to Luigi and kept rambling to herself.

"We have to act quickly…We have to stop that Blumiere…" Tippi had a mental record scratch, and she suddenly felt everyone gawking at her. "Hmm? ! What did I just…Blumiere…wait…hold on…Who in the world is that?"

"We certainly don't know," Tails remarked. Tippi just shook her head.

"I…what am I saying…"

"I wish we knew," Luigi stated. "…but, erm, anyway…do we really have to walk all the way back to Flipside Tower?"

Mario: Nope. *pulls out Return Pipe*

"What do you exactly plan to do with tha-"

**Flipside Tower-**

"WAAAAAA-"

"Luigi, it's over."

"Oh."

Mario snickered in spite of himself and Luigi shook a fist.

"You could've told us it was a warp pipe before whipping it up out of the blue and whisking us back to the tower!"

Mario apologized while chuckling as he made his way to the purple door. It wasn't as suspenseful feeling, since he was toting way smaller of a group and therefore less tension…but he felt that all of Luigi's tension made up for it as he opened the door. The final world…containing the final Pure Heart…they were ready for it, whether they wanted to be or not.

. . .

Dimentio's savage attack had separated Mario from his friends…he had reunited with Luigi, yes, and Tails, but his team, Team ZAP, Team BEG, and the rest of Team Luigi were still missing. Just where was everyone else? And what new dangers lay ahead? It was time to venture through the door opened by the seventh Pure Heart. Once again, Mario saw a nightmarish landscape beyond imagination…

* * *

**Hate List-**

**Computer Crashes, being forced to use a complicated laptop, filler chapters, and not knowing what's going to happen next with all my failing technology. **


	45. Subterranean Vacation

Super Paper Mario X

Chapter 45: Subterranean Vacation

"It's so dark here…I wonder what sort of world this is…" Tippi mused.

"Ah, the joys of fresh new terrain! Each new adventure is like an open canvas waiting to be painted on!"

"If new adventure is like that, then old adventures must be like canvases with paint already on them…and this paint is wet paint."

"What are you two talking about?" Tippi asked Luigi and Tails. Tails spread out his arms and started to wave them frantically.

"We just came from here!"

Mario was just as surprised as they were- Why were they back in The Underwhere! ? He was pretty confident that they didn't get a game over on their way to the seventh door…

"Huh? What in the…Hey! Wait, this IS The Underwhere!" Luigi exclaimed.

"Oh? So this is that place you told me about?" Tippi asked.

"Yeah!"

"Hmm. Then I wonder why the Pure Heart led us here…"

"Well…one Pure Heart leads to the next, right?" Tails questioned.

"Yes, that's correct…"

Luigi suddenly gasped. "Are you implying that there's a Pure Heart in the aftergame! ?"

"Uh-huh."

"I wonder where it could be…I mean, we've been just about everywhere in the Underwhere, and we've had no way to get any farther…"

"We could talk to Queen Jaydes again," Tails suggested. Luigi groaned.

"Yeah, then she'll think we really did get our games over and…hey, where'd my Bro go?"

Mario was already walking off. Tails casually flew after him while Luigi madly waved his hands in the air.

"Oh, come on Mario! You could at least tell us if you walk away!"

Mario, being the experienced adventurer he was, had already figured everything out and just decided to go at it. The only thing was, he hadn't realized that Luigi, Tails, and Tippi weren't following him.

"So I fell out of this pipe…Luckily, I landed in the sea, so I was totally okay," a Shayde was telling another Shayde as Mario walked by.

"Right, so lemme guess…you're gonna tell me you sank like a stone, right?"

"What are you talking about? I'm an incredible swimmer! I swim like a Cheep Cheep! That was what did me in! I looked just like a fish and BAM! Boss Bass snack!"

Mario appeared somewhat disturbed as Luigi caught up with him and dragged him to the red-rainbow door.

"C'mon, Tails, get outta that fountain!"

"But it tastes like orange juice!"

Mario: What's up with him and juice?

"It just sort of happened one day…"

. . .

In the next area, Mario told Tippi all about the maze of spikes, pipes, and broken land, and also about Luvbi staring him down like he was a walking piece of trash while being perched on her pipe. Tippi seemed oddly interested in the tales of Luvbi as Luigi bounced over the area and Tails carried Mario.

"Yeah, she was a pleasant one al lright…" Luigi groaned as he jumped on a Dry Bones.

"She has the outlook of a Nimbi…but the soul of a Shayde," Tails remarked with a shudder. "Cute and angelic on the outside, but pure badness on the inside!"

"I guess that's what happens when your father rules a heavenly paradise and your mother is the fearsome queen of Hades," Luigi shrugged.

"Oh, she doesn't seem that bad," Tippi stated.

"That's because you haven't met her!" Tails cried as he lifted Mario over some spikes.

Mario: She called me old!

"And she called all of us hairy…" Luigi whimpered. He rubbed his mustache. "I keep this well-groomed, thank you!"

Mario also explained to Tippi that Queen Jaydes was her mother, so they figured that her father was the King of the Overthere. He continued by saying that Grambi said Luvbi was missing, and Jaydes had them go on a hunt for her. Tippi looked slightly puzzled.

"That's a lot of worry, for their case…" she mused. "I mean, I understand the urgency of a missing child, but the way you say he reacted was a bit…odd."

"I'd react like that if my kid was running around somewhere in the aftergame," said Luigi.

"Well, Jaydes also said that she was shorthanded…maybe there's something bad going on around here if her servants are trying to take care of it," pondered Tails. "Maybe she didn't want Luvbi getting all caught up in trouble?"

"We might find out when we go back to talk to her," Tippi decided as they reached the other side of the death pit. Mario let go of Tails and ran over to open the door.

. . .

"Ooh, not the river…" moaned Luigi. "I'm feeling queasy…"

"There's a boat there! We can just safely cross and not even have to worry about setting foot in the river if it makes you feel that bad!" Tails exclaimed.

Mario decided he had coins to spare as well and handed Charold the exact change. Charold nodded to himself as the group climbed up into the boat.

"Very sssmart of you…" he commented, climbing onto the boat as well. "A fellow I met thought he was going to be bold and run over the River Twygz…"

"Psh, what idiot would try to run over a river?" scoffed Tails.

"I don't know…but he panicked and he ssssssank…was probably dragged to the bottom of the watersss…"

"Ooh, his hissing is making the tale even more unsettling!" shivered Luigi.

"I bet he didn't even know what he wasss doing…he looked ssso dissscombobulated…" Charold then glanced at group with a creepy look on his face. "He had barely taken a ssstep on the water…he ssstarted to ssscream…and that wasss when…HE FELL IN!"

"WAAAAAH!"

Sploosh. Mario face palmed, Tails shook his head, and Tippi sweat dropped.

"Well, there goes Luigi…"

"Shouldn't we fetch him out?"

"I'm pretty sure he can swim himself. We'll go after him if needed."

Charold was courteous enough to stop the boat, and then it was simply a waiting game. Fortunately, they didn't have to wait long…but the sound of Luigi having an episode didn't really relieve them either.

"G-Guys!" he yelped, splashing around at the surface. "You'll n-never guess who's down there!"

"Who is it?" Tails asked seriously.

Luigi climbed back into boat, drying himself off and panting for air. "It's S-Sonic!"

SPLASH! Luigi was drenched again by a sudden rush of water as Mario and Tails dove into the river. He coughed, then wrung out his hat.

"For some odd reason, I feel like Link now…"

Meanwhile, Mario and Tails were on the search for Sonic. Unlike Luigi, he obviously couldn't swim, and Mario was still thinking about how miraculous it was that they had managed to get him through an ocean. Tails was looking for where Luigi had spotted Sonic, and he didn't find it until they were practically at the bottom of the river.

"Gah! Look, Mario!"

Sonic had gotten all tangled up in the Underhands, and now they were holding him prisoner against the walls of the river. Charold's description of him being out of it fit excellently, because Sonic didn't seem aware of where he was or what had happened. Mario tried to pull him free while Tails attempted to pull the hands off of Sonic's torso. They were having very little luck, however, and it seemed that the gripping was getting tighter.

"It's not working Mario!"

Mario gave a grunt in response and tugged harder. Tails pulled out his wrench and started whacking frantically at the hands, until he felt one grab his ankle.

_"This is…the end…"_

"ACK! It's talking! IT'S TALKING!"

Now Mario found that bit incredulous to believe, but now Tails was trying to wrench his ankle free from the iron grip of the skeletal hand. To top things off, Sonic still wasn't budging, and he still wasn't coming to…

Yet another splash emerged from the river, and Mario looked over his shoulder to see what was the cause of it. He saw Luigi swimming towards them, figuring he was coming to help. But when Mario looked back again, he wasn't there!

Mario: ?

"What's Luigi doing?" Tails demanded to know, kicking the hand against the wall. "Lemme go! Argh!"

Mario wouldn't give up on Sonic, but boy, the Underhands sure thought he was decent pray or something…that's when he realized other hands were swimming towards him, surrounding him at all sides. He almost had no idea what to do, but that was when he heard a vibrant battle cry and saw Luigi torpedoing up from the depths of the river.

"I've got 'im!" he said quickly, flying up into Sonic with so much force that it freed him. While Luigi brought Sonic back to the surface, Mario spun around in a circle, casting the advancing Underhands away from him. He then saw Tails still struggling with his Underhand, so he grabbed Tails' wrist and pulled him toward the surface. The plumber tossed the fox out of the water, which instantly killed the deadly hand.

"Wha-? !"

Luigi leaned over the boat and caught Tails before he crashed back into the water.

"Heh, thanks Luigi…" he chuckled when he was safe back in the boat. Mario popped out moments later, Luigi helping him back into the boat as well.

"hey…you found him…" Charold remarked. Tails blinked, then turned to gape at him.

"You mean Sonic was the one you were talking about! ?"

"Apparently ssso…"

"Oooh, he'll be fine!" Dashell assured, flying frantically around Sonic. "I mean, his love for life is huge! He'll fight for it! Seriously!"

"He must've ended up by the river after we left," Tails deduced, removing the watch from Sonic's wrist and proceeding to tinker with it. "He was still pretty dazed, but thought he was fine…"

"Does that normally happen after you…ya know…?" Luigi wondered, trying to get Sonic to wake up.

"Well I'm pretty sure he was alive when he arrived, like the rest of us…" Tails said while giving him a look.

Mario gave him a firm pound on the chest and suddenly Sonic was sitting up and hacking up water.

"ACK! …urgh…what the…"

"Hi Sonic!" Tails and Luigi chirped, Mario waving at him. Sonic blinked once, coughed again, then turned back to the group.

"Eh? Tails? Luigi? What're you guys doing here?"

"Before we answer that, do you even know where you are?" Luigi asked.

"Well…I'm on a boat-"

"I meant the place!"

"Um…no?"

"We're in the Underwhere, Sonic," Tippi explained. "Dimentio did you all in and sent you here, but it turns out your games are not over after all…"

"Dimentio just teleported us here, Sonic!" Tails exclaimed.

"Wait…how do you know that Dimentio was the one that got me?" Luigi asked. Tails' pupils shrunk.

"Erm…I was just speaking generally."

"Oh, okay."

Sonic grabbed his head and groaned loudly. "Oog…who pulled me out of the river? I barely remember it happening, but I know it did…Was it you, Tails?"

Tails shook his head. "Nope! It was Luigi!"

Sonic glanced at Luigi and gave him a thumbs up. "Thanks Luigi. I owe you one!"

"Heh, it was nothing…I was just in the spur of the moment…"

The boat finally docked on the other side of the river, and Tails and Luigi carefully helped Sonic out of the boat, since he was still a bit lightheaded. Mario hopped off the boat and started to explain everything to Sonic as he held the door open for his three friends to get through.

**Jaydes' Palace-**

"Okay, so you arrived in Dead World twice? ! Wow."

"We think we were sent back here because a Pure Heart is here as well," Tails explained, handing back Sonic's watch. "We don't know where to go though so we were going to talk to Jaydes when Luigi fell out of the boat and discovered that the Underhands had you trapped in River Twygz."

"Nearly gave me a heart attack…" muttered Luigi. Sonic nodded, strapping his watch back onto his wrist.

"And then there was this girl name Luvbi who-"

"Is right over there…"

Mario looked past Sonic, Tails, and Luigi, only to see said Nimbi flittering about her mother. She disappeared briefly for whatever reasons, and Mario took that chance to speak to Jaydes with her intervening.

"Greetings, welcome to the…wait, why have you returned! ?"

"You're Queen Jaydes?" Tippi replied. "My name is Tippi…I'm a friend of Mario's…We…we've come to find the Pure Heart that is hidden in this world…"

Jaydes went dumbstruck. "What! ? You're collecting Pure Hearts? !" She then snapped out of shock and looked the group over. "Hmm…Now that I take a long look at you…I realize you just might be the heroes mentioned in the Prognosticus…but could you really be…the ones?"

"That's us!" Sonic exclaimed. "And thanks to Mario, I now know everything that went on and is happening now!"

"So…Does that mean you have a Pure Heart for us, Queen Jaydes?" Tippi inquired further. Jaydes frowned slightly and turned away.

"The location of the Pure Heart is a matter of utmost secrecy, I am afraid. There is nothing I can tell you…If you really must know, you will have to speak to Grambi, king of The Overthere."

"MOTHER!"

"Oh no, it's her," Luigi yelped, shifting his position to next to Mario. Luvbi returned and smiled in the presence of her queen of a mother.

"My things are packed and checked thrice! I am ready to return to The Overthere!" she then blinked and noticed Mario, Luigi, Sonic, and Tails staring in fear at her. "…Oh, me! Thou returnest? Did thy game truly end this time?"

"An idea strikes…" Jaydes murmured to herself before turning back to Mario. "Could you fine heroes take Luvbi back to The Overthere for me?"

Before any one of the four could bluntly refuse, Tippi spoke up. "Take her back? Why ever would you need us to do a thing like that?"

"A monster was once held beneath here…but a recent earthquake freed it. Once it escaped its prison, it began to wander this realm freely. Of course, I could never send my daughter alone with such a savage beast on the loose."

"A monster that the Queen of the Underwhere even fears?" Sonic questioned in disbelief while Luigi winced.

"Yeah, you know, I think I might just stay here-"

"Oh please Luigi!" Tails exclaimed. "It can't be any worse than Crepe, right?"

"…well thanks for bringing the image of _him_ back into my mind."

"…if you would take her back," Jaydes continued. "I would gladly open the way to The Overthere for you. I will also alert Grambi that you are coming to ask him about the Pure Heart. What say you? This is a fair bargain…"

"Well, I'll sound like Tippi, but we DO need that Pure Heart…" pondered Sonic.

"But I don't want that Shayde in a Nimbi disguise following us around!" objected Luigi.

"Maybe if we're lucky she won't talk to us," Tails suggested, getting Luigi to roll his eyes.

"Yeah right."

Mario turned to Jaydes and gave her his promise that Luvbi would be returned to The Overthere safely…even if she had called him old. Queen Jaydes broke out into a genuine smile.

"…I thank you. With this monster about, my D-Men and I are busy trying to contain the damage…"

She and Luvbi then stepped back a ways, Jaydes summoning a violet door in the area where they once stood.

"Just go through this door and keep heading upward to reach The Overthere," Jaydes explained. "And make sure Luvbi arrives safely in the care of Grams…I mean…Grambi."

Luvbi flew over to the group and giggled. "Hee hee…but avert thine eyes whilst we climb, lest thou succumbeth to my cuteness!"

"Or thy vainness…" grunted Tails.

"Oh please," lurched Tippi. "They're not that superficial…"

Luvbi smirked. "Oh me, a sharpened tongue. Thou art jealous? Dost thou pine for yonder hair twins?"

Mario and Luigi: :P

"For whom dost thou pine the most? The red one? Or perhaps the green one?"

"Well, she just met me, so I'd assume-"

Mario poked Luigi to get him to be quiet as Tippi started to stutter.

"Wh-What! ? I…"

"Thy cheek grows red and thy manner flustered…A crush, hot as a thousand suns, burns deep within thy heart! Yea, verily."

"Can we just go through the door that's right there?" whined Sonic. "That's what I'm pining for right now…"

"Alas for thee, methinks. Anyway, movest on!"

"Whew, thank goodness…" Tails trailed as he opened the door. Luigi was feeling slightly jittery while Mario maintained an extended smack of his forehead. Fortunately for him, the end of the area was up ahead, signaled by the Star Block. Before Luigi or Tails could even question what the object was, Mario jumped under the Star Block and continued on.

. . .

"I sought out a prince, but nay! What I found were ancient men of hairy cheek and barely clothed animals. …'Twas a horror, yea, and one that left my breath stricken in my throat."

Luvbi kept up this refrain as she traveled with our heroes. She seemed less than happy. Still, she DID seem to have a lot of energy…

"Hasten thy chubby legs! Time waits not for those who slack!"

"Why you little-"

"Easy there, Sonic…"

Luigi, on the other hand, was elated that he and his brother were finally reunited, and the same went for Tails with Sonic. But Peach, Bowser, and the rest of the crew were nowhere to be found…Were they safe?

…So thought our heroes as they made their way slowly to the Underwhere Road.


	46. The Sealed Doors Three

Super Paper Mario X

Chapter 46: The Sealed Doors Three

"At long last, we find it…" Luvbi breathed. "Herein lies the way out of The Underwhere. This is Underwhere Road."

"So if we proceed ever upward, we'll eventually reach the Overthere?" Tippi asked.

"If you're trying to pull off Luvbi's accent, it's not working," so said Sonic. Luvbi ignored Sonic and scoffed at Tippi.

"Yea, verily! One would think that to be obvious…Ugh…My heart weepeth to return to the Overthere without meeting mine one true love. Pray, speakest to me, Tippi…Believest thou in the idea of a soul mate?"

"Hm? Well, you know, I…I don't really-"

"Hmm, I shall mark that as one vote for "undecided". Or perhaps I should say "unrequited", in thy case…ha HA!"

The group just tiled their heads as Tippi became flustered once again. "What do you…Ridiculous! I mean, I'm not…"

"Hee hee…Sweet Tippi! How simple it is to tweak thy chain!" she floated a small distance away, smiling sweetly at the group. "So…Now I must forge onward. Catchest me if thou canst!"

As she fluttered off, Tippi just gaped. "That girl is a walking mood swing… I mean, she's entirely unstable, isn't she?"

"I'll go catch that shrimp and I'll…" Sonic grumbled to himself as he walked ahead. Tails yelped and grabbed onto his arm.

"Sonic, you can't just go plodding on ahead!"

"Why not?"

"Because it's pitch black up ahead in the areas that aren't right in front of us and who know what things are lurking around, waiting to reach out of the shadows and grab us!"

"Tails!"

"Sorry Luigi."

Mario decided that this was one unlikely group. Sonic had wanted to storm right through the door, even after the D-Man standing right next to it had explained how it was nearly impossible to see in there. Luigi wanted more information and asked him more.

"Yeah, great, listen, through this door is The Underwhere's hot spot, Underwhere Road! The dark is so dark in there, you can almost taste it! And it tastes like danger. So, tourists huh? Listen, you guys aren't packing any fire or anything, are you? Sorry, gotta ask. We keep it dark in there on purpose, so we don't wanna spoil it!"

"Well, let's go!"

"…"

Mario turned around and saw Luigi gripping his hat, chatting his teeth, and shaking his knees.

Mario: Luigi!

"N-No no no no no no!"

"Luigi…" Tails trailed, trying to get him to come as well.

"They keep in dark in there on purpose? ! Why? ! To scare the daylights or any other sort of light out of everybody? ! And I'm also not up for a snack of danger-flavored darkness!"

Mario: Luigi…

"O-O-Ohhhhh…"

"C'mon, it's probably not as bad as it sounds!" Sonic exclaimed, once again walking through the door. Mario and Tails grabbed Luigi and somewhat dragged him through. They let go when the door slammed shut behind them and left them in the thick darkness.

"O-O-oh boy…"

"At least we can see each other!" Tails stated.

"Yeah, and I think I just saw Luvbi…" trailed Sonic, running after. "If we follow her, she'll probably show us the way out!"

"Well I didn't see her!"

"Just stick with us, Luigi…" Tippi said, following behind Mario as Mario followed Sonic who was following Luvbi through the dark. They could hardly see where they were going, and if they went too fast…who knew what they'd tumble into?

They jumped on a few platforms, then followed Luvbi to the left. Luigi accidentally hit a ? block and absorbed a Mushroom. Sonic, meanwhile, got stuck on a platform.

"Okay, I'm waiting here…I can't see you guys or Luv- Tails, stop grabbing my arm!"

"But I'm over here, Sonic…"

"…Mario?"

Mario: Wasn't me.

Sonic blinked then glanced over his shoulder- an Underhand had reached out from the wall and was now grabbing Sonic. He let out a cry, kicked it sharply, then bounded upwards. Mario, Tails, and Luigi missed where he went, but they found their way after seeing the Underhand for themselves.

Sonic found Luvbi again, floating over a gap in the road. He thought about how he was supposed to follow her until he noticed the rotating rectangles off to the side. He was just about to step in when Luigi tripped, knocking over Mario and Tails, and sending all four of them into the rectangle doohickey.

"Okay, I hate it in here…"

"Remember the room with all the spiders?"

"Tails, why do you keep reminding me of bad moments?"

"To prove that being here could be a lot worse!"

"Well Underhands are a lot scarier than a room full of spiders and- ACK! THERE'S A HAND NOW!"

Luigi jumped away from another hand and stumbled into another rectangle. Mario, Tails, and Sonic leaped from platform to platform just to keep up with him.

"Luvbi…aw, why can't you wait for us?" Luigi moaned.

"Be happy that she doesn't want to be near us!" Sonic huffed when he returned to Luigi's side.

"Ugh, why is there so many of these? !"

"What, Tails- the spinning rectangles or the Underhands?"

"BOTH!" Tails yelled back, hitting an Underhand away with his wrench as he stepped into yet another rectangle. Luigi saw a Dark Boo and tried to punch it, but Sonic distracted it while Mario came up from behind and jumped on it. Luigi just gulped an hit another ? Block containing another Mushroom. The three of them hurried after Tails, and to an extent Luvbi, by once again leaping from the platforms and smacking away Underhands.

"I found a Dark Boo card!" Tails' voice announced in the dark.

"Great, where are you?" Sonic asked.

"Um…I think I'm to the right-"

"Well I'm at the left!" Luigi cried.

Sonic tilted his head. "But…I'm in the middle…"

"Where're you, Mario?"

Mario: Toward the top.

"What? ! That's not possible!"

"I just saw something white and floaty!"

"That was Luvbi, Luigi."

"…sorry for being paranoid…"

"Oh wait, I see Mario!"

"I see him too!"

"I don't!"

"Just follow our voices, Luigi!"

"Keep going up!"

"Here, I'll help!" cried Carrie, flying around in the dark until she found Luigi trying to fight off another Dark Boo. She quickly transformed into her floating platform form, scooped Luigi up, and flew him back to the top of the room where the other three had caught up with Luvbi.

"The door before us refuseth to open!" Luvbi huffed frustratedly. "It even refuseth to open for me!"

Tails rolled his eyes as Mario knocked on the door. Nothing.

"It's being held shut by some sort of force…" Sonic trailed. Mario looked thoughtful for a few moments before pointing at the door. Tippi's power activated, causing her to divide into eight small triangles that circled around the door.

"This door…it's no ordinary door…"

"Halt! What's this, then? Travelers have come?"

The door suddenly gained a face that included red-orange eyes and a jagged mouth. Everyone just sort of gawked at it.

"Now! Queen Jaydes demands I guard this door, people!"

"But you ARE the door!"

"I'm Dorguy the First. Lotsa monsters around, folks. Lotsa monsters. So I've gotta do routine checks, OK? Sorry for the trouble, folks, but I need to make sure you're trustworthy. Just a couple of questions. Answer them all correctly, and we're done! Then you can head on through."

All four members of the group so far let out a groan. Tippi blinked and asked them what was wrong.

"Trust us, we've been in these sort of situations before…" Sonic moaned.

"Yeah, they either ask a bunch of questions, have us do some sort of activity, or have us fight an enemy!" Tails added.

Mario just sulked and turned to the Dorguy, who was ready to begin. "Here's the first one! I'm warning you, though, these are pretty tough questions, so use those noggins."

"No worries! We have Tails!" Luigi exclaimed. Tails turned around and gave him a look.

"And just what is that supposed to mean?"

"It doesn't matter because their challenges are always easy in the first place," Sonic stated confidently. "I say bring it on!"

"D-Man A goes to the store and buys an equal number of tomatoes and eggplants. Eggplants costs seven coins apiece and tomatoes cost ten coins apiece, OK? D-Man A has 50 coins when he goes into the store. He comes out with 5 coins. Those are the facts! Now!"

"Oh man, I hate word problems!"

"It's actually very simple if you think about it-"

"Oh quiet Tails- word problem are the most baneful part of mathematics itself!"

"Who is the most powerful person in The Underwhere?"

"The answer is im- wait a minute, Queen Jaydes?" Tails asked right back. A celebratory sound rang out as Dorguy said. "DING-O! Correct!"

"Trick question! Those are even worse!"

"Next question! Shayde B buys 667 pens for 13 coins each and buys 108 notebooks for 42 coins each. He needs more money, so he takes out 3,756 coins from the bank and spends it all. Those are the facts. Now!"

"That doesn't even make any sense!"

"What is my name?"

Mario: Dorguy the First

"DING-O! Correct! Now for the last question! Panda A and Bear B go to Apple Mountain for a day of apple picking, right? There are 120 apple trees on the mountain, an each has a 20-apple yield. A takes 10 seconds to pick each apple, while B takes 20 seconds to pick each apple. Those are the fact. Now!"

"That's some complicated apple picking."

"How many times did I just say the word "apple"?"

"It's a double trick question!" wailed Luigi. Tails cringed and sweatdropped.

"Ironically I wasn't paying attention to that…"

"Six times," Sonic said innocently. Mario, Luigi, and Tails stared at him until Dorguy the First made the final judgment…

"…DING-O! Correct! You folks seem okay to me. Head on through."

His face disappeared and his "mysterious force" vanished, causing Sonic to break out into a song and dance.

"Ha HA! A door is no match for us! What now? !"

"Anyone else get the feeling that there'll probably be more than one?" Tails asked.

Mario: Oh yeah.

. . .

Through the first Dorguy, the group found a large locked door in the middle of the room, and also a smaller one being held close by three D-Men dressed like cavemen. When the quartet approached, the first one snarled at them.

"Huh? What do you want?"

"How are we supposed to get to The Overthere if the doors are all locked up?" Sonic wanted to know.

"Look, we'd love to chat but we're crunch-time busy over here, can't you tell?"

"We simply must reach The Overthere…" Tippi explained. "But we don't know which way it is…"

"The Overthere, huh?" pondered the same D-Man. "See that door on your left? It'll head you up there. But we can't open it right now. We've gotta guard this door. We've trapped a raging beat and a few monsters from The Underwhere inside."

"Yup, this thing in here is DEFINITELY the one that escaped its prison!" the second one exclaimed. "…but we locked up the others in there just in case. Can't have them breaching security, so we locked both doors just in case as well."

"This thing's a BEAST, lemme tell you…real nasty. It if starts rampaging again, I don't wanna be the D-Man who has to stop it. Problem is, until someone subdues it, we can't use the door to The Overthere…So…if YOU can tame in, we can open that door for you. …wanna give it a shot?"

Mario: Sure.

"Mario!" winced Luigi. Mario shrugged- how bad could this thing be?

"Yeah, way to bring it, Mario!" Sonic cheered, punching the air rapidly.

However, the third D-Man just burst into laughter.

"Bah ha ha ha ha ha! I was just messing with you. Seriously, no one would ever be dumb enough to…Wait…did you just say "yes"?"

Mario: Uh-huh!

All three of the D-men gawked at Mario.

"ARE YOU NUTS! ?"

"Y-Y-you're SERIOUS? ! You actually think you can tame that beast! ?" stammered the first.

"Well, hey, yeah, great idea. Sounds like a smart plan…" trailed the second. "Tell you what…you head on in…and I'll mail your mustache to your next of kin!"

Mario tackled Luigi just as went to make a run for it. Tails just stared with wide eyes as Sonic shook his head.

"Look, my prediction? Your game's about to end," explained the third D-Man. "If not, we'll help you on your way. Give it a shot, champs!"

They unlocked the door and stepped aside, gesturing for them to go on ahead. Luigi was yelling something about "not wanting to lose his mustache" as Sonic and Tails held the door open so Mario could drag his brother on through. When he was inside, Sonic and Tails slammed the door shut, then turned around to lay their eyes on the fearsome creatures that lurked within, but the room was pitch black.

"GRAAAARGH!"

With the loud yell, the lights lined up on the wall all came to life with fire, lighting the room and revealing the beast and its fellow monsters. Everyone was expecting something terribly hideous or threatening looking since it _was_ the monster that escaped a prison…

…but they only found Bowser throwing a tantrum and Eggman, Ganondorf, and Knuckles playing cards in a corner.

"Ha ha ha ha! Oh man, I was almost actually a little scared for a moment!" Sonic cackled.

"…why'd they lock up Knuckles?" Luigi wondered.

"And why in the world are they playing cards?" Tails questioned while gawking at them.

"Got any threes?" Knuckles asked Ganondorf. Ganondorf muttered something under his breath as he looked at his hand, then shook his head.

"Go Fish."

"BS!"

"What? ! No!"

"Here, take the pile!"

"No way! You draw four!"

"Not until after you give me my ten chips back!"

"I wanted to raised the stakes!"

"Well you can't because you have the Old Maid!" shouted Eggman. Ganondorf twitched.

"Oh yeah? Well I've got a Crazy Eight as well!"

Eggman smirked. "Really? Because I have Aces over Kings!"

Ganondorf's jaw dropped while Knuckles just about crushed his cards in his grip. He snatched the pile, Ganondorf's cards, and Eggman's cards and tossed them all into the air.

"52 PICK UP!"

Ganondorf saw a jack come fluttering down and slammed his palm onto it. "Ha! Slapjack!"

"But is it a black jack?" Knuckles stated in a matter-of-factly tone. Eggman shook his head.

"No, but it's a Heart! You know red cards have to go over black cards."

"UNO!"

"BINGO!"

"What in the world are you guys doing?" Sonic demanded to know. Ganondorf, Eggman, and Knuckles finally noticed their presence in the room and waved.

"Sup! We're playing cards!" Knuckles exclaimed.

"What the heck kind of card game under the sun is this?" Luigi demanded to know.

"Well, we've played every card game known to man…" Ganondorf explained. "Eggman had a spare deck in his pocket."

"Yeah, so since we've played everything, we attempted to fuse them all together!" Eggman finished.

"Wanna play?" Knuckles asked.

"No!" Tails shouted incredulously. "You guys are locked in a room in The Underwhere and you're playing cards? !"

"The worlds are ending you know! We don't have time for this!" Luigi reminded them. "You could've at least escaped by busting through a wall!"

"Nah, Bowser's got that taken care of," Ganondorf said simply, shuffling the deck. "He's been having an episode as soon as we were thrown in here!"

"I can't believe they thought I was a monster!" scoffed Knuckles.

"What'd you do this time?" Sonic groaned. Knuckles gave him a look.

"Well, after you guys called me, I was trying to get past a Door of sorts, but it was asking all these weird questions that I couldn't figure out, so naturally I got frustrated-"

"You overacted in an angry fashion-"

"-I was**_ frustrated_**, so I repeatedly pounded on the door until the D-Men found me, tackled me, and threw me in here because they thought I was trying to get to The Overthere and wreak havoc or something. Then I joined in on the villains' card game."

"Well I guess there's no fighting to do after all!" Luigi sighed, relived. "All we have to do is walk out and the D-Men will let us pass and we can peacefully continue our journey and-"

"Where am I? !" Bowser continued to complain, kicking at the wall repeatedly. "And why do these jerks in shades keep jumping us? ! And what's with the dark? And Peach isn't here…and I'm hungry. What did I do to deserve this? !"

Mario: I can think of lots of reasons.

He heard Mario speak and quickly turned his back to the wall, glaring down at his arch foe while the other three were still conversing with the card-players. However, Luigi happened to walk over at the wrong time, and Bowser acknowledging him made him jump.

"Hey, it's the guy in green! You're alive? !" Bowser gaped. Luigi blinked.

"You can't even remember my name?"

"But where's everyone else? What happened to Peach?"

"We don't know yet," Tippi explained. "We're looking for her too…and the others as well."

"So what you're telling me is that Peach is definitely not here. I don't like this one bit." he then came across a completely outlandish proposition. "AHA! I see your little plan! You wanna break up what me and Peach have going!"

Mario: This guy's impossible.

Luigi went slack jawed. "WHAT! ?"

"You and Peach don't _have_ a thing!" Tails exclaimed, walking over.

"Yeah, we can't break up something non-existent!" snickered Sonic. Bowser apparently misheard what they had said, or didn't hear them at all.

"Yeah, you've been WAITING for a chance to fireball me in the back!"

Luigi rapidly shook his head while Tippi spoke up again. "Uh…no. We truly don't know where Peach is."

"If we knew where Peach was, Tippi would be with her," Sonic pointed out.

"We merely…"

"Can it, you ugly little bug! I'll stomp the truth right out of you! CHARGE!"

Bowser instantly breathed flames at them, all four of them bouncing backward. Ganondorf and Eggman exchanged wicked glances and prepared to fight as well.

"Mindless fighting!" they cheered, Ganondorf staring to throw magic and Eggman firing lasers. Mario, Luigi, Sonic, and Tails were dancing around like crazy to avoid them all while Knuckles stared sadly at his cards.

"Aw, no one wants to play now…"

"ACK! You guys are just making this harder than it need to be!" Tails yelped, flying out of reach of Bowser's flames.

"I go nowhere until I see my wife!" Bowser roared, trying to claw and slash at the flying fox. Luigi came out of nowhere and kicked him in the head.

"I'm pretty sure she's not really your wife…"

"You were even at the wedding!" Bowser blared. "You were there! You saw!"

"Please just give it up," groaned Tails, conking Bowser in the back on his head with his wrench.

Meanwhile, Eggman was chasing Mario around, firing lasers like no tomorrow. Mario had a firm grip on his hat while he ran around the room, afraid to turn around at the risk of being blasted in the face. Sonic jumped in from nowhere, however, sticking his leg out and causing Eggman to trip.

"YAH!"

His finger was still on the trigger of his laser gun, firing a stray shot and zapping Ganondorf in the head. Ganondorf grabbed the right side of his face and howled in agony.

"Watch where you're firing your shot!"

Eggman hit the ground with a thud, Sonic proceeding to jump on his back like it was a trampoline. Mario snickered, then swerved out of the way of a firewall that Ganondorf summoned. He then found himself running around in circles once again as Ganondorf fought back with rapid fire! He called Carrie over, then jumped on her and charged straight at Ganondorf. Right as he was about to attack, Luigi was thrown into Ganondorf, causing Mario to slam into the wall instead.

"What the…" Ganondorf moaned, seeing Luigi sitting on him. He grabbed him by the arm and chucked him across the room again. "Get offa me!"

"What did I do to be thrown around like this?" he moaned. Tails was still fighting off Bowser, only to hear Luigi's wail in the air and duck down. The green plumber flew over his head and crashed into Bowser. Tails just looked on.

"Well, that works…"

He then felt two missiles whiz by him, one of them containing Sonic who drove it straight into the wall, then bounced back. He landed next to Tails, and both of them turned around to see Eggman now sitting in his battle mech.

"Watch, Tails. We're gonna get a load of this."

Eggman, who hadn't heard Sonic, bellowed out with, "Get a load of this!"

"Called it!"

Eggman sent more missiles at the heroes, laughing maniacally until Mario jumped on his head while using Carrie. He was just about knocked out of his seat while Tails ran over and grabbed Barry. When a missile started to fly towards him, he superguarded it and changed its course to hit Ganondorf.

"Woo!"

"You'll pay for that!" Ganondorf roared, raising his hands up and creating another wall of fire. "Superguard THAT!"

Before it could even reach Tails, a sudden furious wind that whirled into a tornado consumed the firewall, and surrounded Ganondorf as well. It slowly closed in on Ganondorf, until he was being burned and whipped by wind at the same time. Sonic jumped out of the funnel and gave Dashell a highfive.

"Nice job!"

"You too! Seriously!"

Meanwhile, Luigi was running away from Bowser who was going on a rampage. He noticed Tails just standing on the sidelines and waved at him frantically.

"Jump, Tails, jump!"

"Okay?"

Tails jumped up in Luigi and Bowser's line of fire, Luigi jumping up as well. He intercepted Tails in the air by grabbing his wrist, then spinning around and throwing him straight at Bowser. Tails was ready to attack with one of his tools that made direct contact with Bowser and sent him flying back.

"OW! Why am I getting so badly pwned? !"

Mario then jumped in from nowhere and kicked him in the head. Bowser was actually quick to get back on his feet after that blow, blasting fire at his nemesis. Mario was one step ahead, however- he placed Boomer right where Bowser attacked, causing the Pixl to automatically detonate and for Bowser's plan to literally blow up in his face.

"Grr-GRARGH!"

Luigi sprang up from out of the blue, rocketing by Bowser and crashing his head into the Koopa King's jaw. Bowser stumbled backwards, grabbing his face while Luigi landed back on his feet and took off toward Eggman and Ganondorf, who were now attacking Sonic and Tails. Crouching again, he Super-Jumped into Eggman's battle mech, tipping it right over and causing Eggman to pour right out of it. Ganondorf stopped throwing fire at Sonic and glared at Luigi.

"If you think that same trick is gonna work on me-"

"I don't," Luigi replied casually, running up the wall then bounding off of it upside down. Mario then jumped up, latched onto Luigi's wrists, then smacked his brother down hard onto Ganondorf. When Ganondorf toppled to the ground, the bros exchanged a highfive.

"We'll have these guys tamed in no time!" Sonic exclaimed, charging up a Light Dash. "Ready? GO!"

He bowled into Bowser, since he currently was the only one standing. Bowser was also currently charging at Sonic, eyes closed and arms flailing around. Sonic must've been too much for Bowser, because Bowser stumbled a bit, but it wasn't until Tails tripped him that he fell over onto his shell as well. Ganondorf and Eggman pushed themselves off the ground and walked over to help Bowser up- after all, a turtle was completely helpless when it was flipped over.

"Gonna give up yet?" Tails asked, as he, Mario, Sonic, and Luigi all stood in a line facing them. Once Bowser was back on his feet, Team BEG growled at the heroes and prepared themselves to fight once again. They spread out, just enough so that they were circling the heroes. Now the heroes stood in a circle as well, standing back to back and slowly circling to the right. It was a pure stare down for several moments, until the ground started to quake violently and a red blur came rocketing out of ground, smiting its direct target.

"OW! KNUCKLES!"

"Whoops, sorry Thunder. I was off by a little…erm, take two!"

As Luigi fell to the ground grabbing the spot where Knuckles had punched him, Knuckles dug back into the ground, the villains and the other heroes wondering what the heck he was thinking.

Well, the fighting recommenced when Knuckles sprung out of the ground again and hit Bowser in the face.

"THAT'S IT, GET THEM!"

Sonic, Tails, Mario, and Knuckles all bounded out of the way as Bowser, Eggman, and Ganondorf launched their attacks. Luigi was hit by all of them unfortunately, but he was saved by Mario blasting Boomer at Eggman, Sonic kicking Ganondorf to the ground, Tails using his tools as drumsticks on Bowser's head, and Knuckles sending them all away by pounding his fists into the ground. The quake that followed sent the three villains flying onto the ground and skidding against the walls. Luigi dusted himself off then proceeded to jump on the heads of all three of them, also using Cudge for added effect.

"C'mon, we can finish them off!" Luigi exclaimed. "…hopefully…"

"Of course we will!" Knuckles replied.

"Well, not when you go whaling on your team leader," snickered Sonic.

"That was an accident!"

"You're forgiven, Knuckles," Luigi stated, ducking under an attack from Ganondorf while Tails sweep kicked him back to the ground again. Sonic and reluctantly Knuckles exchanged a nod, jumped into the air, grabbed the others' wrist, then spun around until they turned into a red and blue wrecking ball. They plowed into all three villains, then Knuckles let go of Sonic and grabbed Bowser's tail.

Mario: ^^

In a Mario-esque fashion, Knuckles started spinning around, swinging Bowser around with him. Eggman and Ganondorf gulped.

"This doesn't look too good for us…"

"RARGH!"

Knuckles let go at just the right moment, tossing Bowser straight into his cohorts. They all screamed when Bowser plowed into them, and that attack alone was definitely enough to ensure that they were beat. Mario, however, had one finishing move in mind. Bowser saw him walking up and started to whine.

"Please, no! Have mercy!"

Mario: Bye-bye!

He lit Boomer and threw him at the group, landing right in front of all three of them. Team BEG gave Mario pleading looks, but Mario just grinned as he snapped his fingers and detonated the Pixl.

"GRAAAAACK! Dang! Why do I always lose? What is WRONG with me? !" groaned Bowser. "I get up every time, though! As many times as it takes to send you to The Underwhere!"

"I already told you we're already there!" Tails exclaimed frustratedly.

"Yea sorry to break that to you, big guy…" Luigi chuckled nervously.

Bowser stood up, looking highly exhausted. "What? What're you talking about! ? Do I LOOK like a guy whose game is over? !"

"You and Mario were sent here, to the land of ended games…To The Underwhere…" Tippi explained.

"And somehow Team Luigi was sent here as well," Knuckles added while scratching his head.

"We didn't know what happened to any of you, not just Peach…"

"What? ! So Peach really is lost out there somewhere? !"

"Yeah, along with Zelda, Kirby, Malon, Meta Knight, Samus, Amy, and Link," Tails rambled.

Bowser suddenly glared at them. "Why didn't you say so, idiots! ? We could've been searching for Peach this entire time!"

Sonic just face palmed. "At least he's not trying to kill us now…"

"Man, this means we're back with the good guys again," complained Ganondorf.

"Trust us, we're just as thrilled as you are," Tails sighed.

"Ooh, that reminds me!" Sonic exclaimed, whirling around and pointing at Knuckles. "We need to give you an intro!"

"Say wha-"

Mario: Oh yeah!

Sonic struck Link's introduction pose. "Team BEG has rejoined the team…and Knuckles has joined it as well! Sporting massive and strong spiked fists, this echidna can punch through nearly anything! When Team Luigi takes control, he can either climb up walls to reach higher heights, or glide back down. His battle ability is being able to counteract a superguard."

Knuckles struck his own pose. "Pretty impressive if I do say so myself-"

"Enough talking! We've got a Peach to find!" Bowser proclaimed, marching toward the door as Thudley eagerly returned to his side. "What're you waiting for? Let's MOVE!"

**Outside the Door-**

The D-Men were just surprised to see the group not dead.

"Hey, it's you!" cried the first D-Man. "And your game isn't over…did you run away or something?"

"No, we tamed the beast," Luigi stated simply. The three D-Men gasped dramatically.

"WHAT! ? You BEAT it? !"

"And then some," groaned Sonic.

Mario: Oh yeah.

"SERIOUSLY? !" "NO WAY!"

"Man, I can't believe it…Wow, uh…Thanks! You're a prime go-getter pal! This key'll open the door that connects to The Overthere!"

The first D-Man walked over and handed Luigi the key.

"Cool, cool, problem solved! Way to think outside the box there, people." He turned to the other two D-Men. "I'll just stay on watch here. You guys go find the rest of the monsters out there!"

"WE'RE ON IT!"

As they ran off, the remaining D-Man turned back to the group. "Oh, hey, and let me give you a little tip. Lots of dark areas around here, right? Solution: put a little flame to the torch sconces you see on the walls! That'll light up the place for awhile. Careful, though, they'll eventually go out. If you know someone that can use fire, get 'em on torch duty, STAT!"

"Looks like you're on torch duty, Bowser," Knuckles said instantly. Bowser just growled something under his breath.

"See Luigi? Now we won't be delving into absolute darkness anymore!" Tails exclaimed.

"Yeah, but the journey through it still won't be pleasant…"

"Finally a downer!" Ganondorf cheered. "That means less positivity in the group!"

Luigi just stared at him. "…what is wrong with him?"

"Chronically pessimistic?" Eggman shrugged, taking the key from Luigi and jamming in the lock. Once the door was unlocked, Mario pulled it open and lead everyone on through.

. . .

The next room was filled with darkness, just as the D-Man had forecasted, and Luvbi flew off into its unforgiving shadows once more. The only difference between now and then was that they had Bowser this time, who leaned over and spewed fire at one of the sconces.

"Let there be light!" Luigi rejoiced as the darkness was repelled away.

"At least we won't be blindly finding our way through again," Sonic added, relieved.

Mario nodded gratefully in agreement as light filled the room. Luvbi was spotted flying upwards, and as much as the group hated to do so, they followed afterwards. Her constant shouts of things like "Hasten your pace!" "You only chaseth me because I art so cute." and "I hopeth my prince be in the Overthere…he will be better than the fools I hath been saddled with."

She got on_ everyone's_ nerve, and it took quite the team effort to tackle Knuckles to the ground when Luvbi murmured, "The red thing is awfully stupid, nay?"

"Let me get my hands on her, please!"

"Dude, you really want to murder the daughter of the King and Queen of death?"

"Yeah, they'll place death on you if you do that."

"I don't care if she's the princess of life _after_ death- no one calls me stupid and gets away with it!…often!"

Anyway, Luvbi spewing out random insults to everyone continued as they ascended up a tall, tall, tall, tall set of stairs. As they climbed, the area around them gradually grew darker, and Bowser was constantly aiming his flames at every sconce hanging off the wall. Luvbi, whom, unfortunately for the Koopa King, was floating next to him as he lit up the wall.

"You certainly hath hot breath, nay? A little closer and you would scorcheth me verily!"

"Oh would I ever love to do that-"

"Bowser…"

"Still your tongue of fire, mortal. I art not one to holdeth a grudge."

"Yeah right," snorted Sonic in disbelief. Luvbi whirled around and gave him a dark look.

"Thy art not one to be questioning me, verily. Especially since thine mind is not as sharp as thine quills."

Knuckles and Ganondorf burst into laughter as Sonic clenched his fists and glared right back at Luvbi, who was smirking and looking obviously pleased with herself.

"I outta give you a piece of my mind-"

"Yea, a piece is all you hath of a mind."

"Ooh, burned…" Bowser hissed, lighting up another sconce as Mario did his best to prevent Luvbi from getting on everyone's nerves and get everyone to the top of the area. The only ones who were really listening to him were Luigi, Tails, surprisingly Eggman, and somewhat Bowser, only because he was on torch duty. Eggman had wanted to get to the Overthere as fast as possible to drop off Luvbi after the last comment directed at him-

"Why dost thou hath such an abundance of hair under thy nose? It's ridiculous, yea. And thou art shaped like an egg as well- your roundness could blocketh out the sun!"

So it was only obvious that Eggman was dying to get to the paradise in the sky. The only one that seemed immune to Luvbi was Ganondorf, simply because she had no legit way to victimize him. Mario made no eye contact with Luvbi as he lead the group up, which seemed to do the trick…but how dare she call him chubby! It was only a few extra pounds, after all.

"And _you_," Luvbi huffed at Knuckles, continuing her deriding rampage. "Thou cannot sayeth that thou are not stupid, nay?"

"I'm not stupid you little whatever the heck you are! Say it closer to my face so I can punch yours!"

Luvbi just rolled her eyes. "Ah, your temper is hot, just liketh your head."

Luigi elbowed Knuckles. "I think she called you hotheaded."

Knuckles started trembling with resistance. "Can I please hit her? Just a little black eye?"

"You will lay not a finger on me," Luvbi huffed, starting to fly to the top by herself. "You men begin to bore me, so I willeth continue on. Yea, verily."

"Good riddance…" Eggman grumbled.

"She won't get very far…" Tails pointed out.

"At least we get a break from her chatter," groaned Ganondorf in relief.

"I wanted to scorch her," Bowser complained as he blasted a Dry Bones off the platform with his flames. "Very badly…"

"Shame we're at the top though," Sonic sighed as he helped Mario take down some Dark Boos. "She's been gone for a mere few seconds and I bet she's waiting for us up there."

"Yea verily, unfortunately…" moaned Knuckles as they all leaped to a platform on the left side of the area, then jumped to the very top part where Luvbi was indeed waiting.

"Sigh…It was too short a break…"

"Shush yourself!" Luvbi ordered. "Just get this door openeth."

"Ooh, she's pushy too…" grunted Bowser as Mario summoned Tippi's power and pointed her at the next Guard Door. Knuckles' eyes suddenly widened.

"Hey, this is where I got stuck before I started beating on this door and the D-Men found me!"

"Great, now we get to figure out what simplistic puzzle had you baffled," scoffed Ganondorf. Knuckles was getting ready to hit him, as no one would object to that, but the Dorguy interrupted him before he could.

"Halt! What's this, then? Travelers had come?"

Just like the previous door, this one gained a somewhat scary-looking face, but the face was different colors compared to the first one.

"Now! Queen Jaydes demands I guard this door, folks! I'm Dorguy the Second! Look, I apologize for the intrusion, but I've gotta run a quick security check, here. I've got a few questions. Answer them all correct and I'll wave you on through."

"It can't be any worse than last time," Tails stated.

"Unless this door has word problems too!" gasped Luigi.

"ACTIVATE SCREEN!"

"Eh, screen?"

"I know, it's brutal!" exclaimed Knuckles.

Mario and the rest of the group watched curiously as a white screen dropped down from the ceiling.

"This is no time to watcheth a movie!" Luvbi protested, outraged. "Of course, such oblivious men wouldeth be distracted by a blank screen.

"She acts like this is our fault," muttered Ganondorf.

In any case, the Dorguy was just as quick to cut to the chase as the first door was, and Mario was ready for any questions he might get thrown at him.

"All right, Question one! Look closely at the objects on the screen, OK, folks?"

The screen then displayed a yellow circle, square, and triangle, a red circle, square, and triangle, and a blue circle, square and triangle. They all moved around the screen, and everyone did their best to pay attention to every little detail.

"Now answer me this…how many red objects were there?"

"Well, there was red circle, red, square, and red triangle," Luigi recalled.

"So…three?" answered Tails.

"Hmm…sorry folks, but I'm not gonna tell ya if you're right or wrong just yet."

"Oh great…"

"Question Two! Watch that screen now!"

Two triangles were on the screen, one red and one blue. Also on the screen were three squares of every color, and four circles of every color, with two of them being red.

"How many triangles were there, folks?"

"Easy! Two!" Eggman exclaimed. Dorguy the Second just kept a blank face.

"Hoo hoo ha…Question Three! Eyes at the screen, folks."

This time, there was three of every color, with each color having every shape. What seemed to be different this time around was that there was only three shapes moving.

"What color were the moving shapes?"

"I'mma have to say blue," Sonic replied, the Dorguy looking perplexed.

"So that's your answer, huh…"

"Ooh, I'm not feeling so confident…" trailed Knuckles. "I think I missed the next question…and the one after, maybe…"

"I'm appalled that you managed to miss any of these!" gawked Bowser.

"Next question! Off the top of your head, what number question is this?"

"Three!" "Five!" "Six!" "Forty-Two!" "One billion!" "Over nine-thousand!" "BOWSER!"

"Only one answer, folks!"

Mario: Four!

"Getting tired yet, folks?"

"I am!" Luvbi called from the sidelines.

"Oh, I hope he accepted Mario's answer…" Luigi trembled.

"This is the last question…look closely at the screen."

There was three of every color, once again, and they were all moving. Except…one of the shapes was more abundant than the others.

"What shape was the most plentiful, folks?"

"Please be triangles…" begged Luigi, getting down on his knees and pleading.

"Oh snap, I answered circles last time!" Knuckles exclaimed. "Man! I can't believe I cracked under such a simple question!"

"Which proveth my point that thou art idiotic."

"I'm not a thing! I'm an echidna! And I'm not idiotic either!"

"DONE!" blared the Dorguy, putting a halt to Knuckles and Luvbi yelling at each other. "Lemme just analyze your responses real quick…"

**A Few Antagonizing Seconds Later-**

"Hoo hoo HA! P-P-Perfect! Amazing…I'm…impressed. Your brain ages must be very young, folks!"

"What does that mean?"

"Beats me."

"Well, with brains that young, you must be good people! Head on in!"

Dorguy the Second opened, and everyone fought to be the first one through.

. . .

"Overthere! ?"

"Nope, just another locked door and a hideous pink door with two hearts plastered on it."

"I take it we need to go through the pink door first?"

"Yea, verily."

"oh shush Luvbi- the question wasn't directed at you!"

"Well excuseth me for imputing an answer!"

"Okay Luvbi, you wait by the locked door while we go investigate the pink one, m'kay?" Sonic ordered, pointing at the locked door for emphasis. "Stay!"

"Well fine! I knowest when I am not wanted! Hmph!"

Luvbi angrily floated over to the door, while everyone else planned to throw a "good job" party for Sonic at a future time. But for the moment, they entered the pink door.

. . .

"…Ick. It reeks of elderly in here!"

"The sinister stench of ancients!"

"The pungent odor of old people!"

"Have respect for the elders! Yeesh!"

Three, how you say, old hags resided in the pink room. The one toward the far left was dressed in blue and had dreads for hair, the one in the middle was in green and had a puffy old afro, and the one closest to the door was wearing magenta and had straighter hair than the others. The group that had just intruded on them exchanged uncertain glances.

"Erm…does one of them have the key?"

"That would be my guess…"

Mario walked up to the hag in pink and tapped her on the shoulder. She whirled around in a creepy manner and let out an equally creepy laugh.

"Eh eh eh eh eh eh eh eh eh eh eh eh!"

Mario: O.o;

"I am Hagra, one of the ancient sisters three…The Underwhere crones! Mm…young ones, aren't you? And to where are you headed, young men?"

"We're trying to get to The Overthere, but we seem to keep running into several obstacles…" Tails explained. Mario added on to that with what their reasons were for going to the Overthere. Hagra looked thoughtful.

"You seek the Pure Heart, so you desire an audience with Grambi? Sounds serious…well, you are not the only one here with a problem, no…for I have one as well. Yes, I lent a certain book to a certain D-Man, you see…and now I need it back."

"Oh cool, so how do we get to the Over-"

"Bowser!"

"Could you find him and it back for me, you strapping young things?" Hagra finished, giving the males a pleading look.

Mario: I guess…

"Of course, stupid goodie- two shoes…" complained Bowser.

"Good, yes, good…Allow me to send you to where the D-Man in question is!"

"Wait, what-"

"And thanks for your help, yes…"

Hagra raised her arms over her head and closed her eyes, but unfortunately for her, when she closed her eyes, she only teleported Mario, Luigi, Bowser, and Ganondorf to the place where the D-Man was. For whatever reason, she had missed teleporting Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Eggman.

"Oh sure, forget about the ones that came from Mobius…" grumbled Sonic.

"The scary thought is, we outnumber everyone else by…well, more than we probably should…" Tails calculated. Sonic just shrugged.

"Well, whatever. Let's just see what the other hags have to say. Tails and Eggman can get the green one and Knuckles and I will talk to the blue one."

"We've got nothing better to do…" sighed Knuckles, heading off to Hagnes, and Eggman, heading off to talk to Hagitha.

**With the Mario People + Ganondorf-**

"Hey…where's Tails, Knuckles, and everyone else?" Luigi wondered.

"That old crone must have just teleported us to the D-Man and missed the others," Ganondorf decided.

"And we ended up all the way back down here," moaned Bowser dramatically, right after Mario obtained a Diet Book from the D-Man.

"a-At least we weren't brought all the way back to the beginning of Underwhere Road- just to the steps!" Luigi exclaimed.

"Yeah, don't jinx it…" trailed Ganondorf, following Mario back through the door.

**With Tails and Eggman-**

"Oh my Chaos we were sent all the way BACK TO THE BEGINNING! !"

"This is the last time I ever help out the elderly!"

"All this just to tell a guy to record a show? ! LUDICROUS!"

**With Sonic and Knuckles-**

"…I was a little red hot tamale back in my day…"

Sonic was lying on the floor on the verge of having a seizure while Knuckles was playing a card game with Sonic's plushie of Spike.

"Knuckles…if I don't make it-"

"Sonic, it's just a story!"

"I know, but it's really boring! I'd rather be sent back to the bottom of the Underwhere Road!"

**With Tails and Eggman-**

"I CAN'T BELIEVE WE HAVE TO GO ALL THE WAY BACK."

"This better be worth it in the end."

"IT PROBABLY WON'T.

**With Mario, Luigi, Bowser, and Ganondorf-**

"-and we've reached the top step!" Luigi cheered, jumping impressively from the top step to the platform to the top area. "See? That didn't take but a minor two minutes!"

"Hmph, whatever happened to you being a downer?" grumbled Ganondorf.

"I tend to switch depending on the situation."

"Well, in any case, let's just get this crummy book back to the hag…" sighed Bowser.

Mario: Uh-huh!

He entered through the door where Dorguy the Second had once greeted them, then returned to the area with the pink door, the locked door, and Luvbi. Luvbi gave them a bewildered look, but it went ignored by the returning group. When Mario entered…he definitely wasn't expecting Sonic to be twitching on the floor like it was some sort of new dance, or for Knuckles to be playing cards with a stuffed Yoshi. The worse part was that Knuckles was losing.

"I had…to suffer…and I only…got a thank you…in return!" Sonic wheezed, as if he had the living daylights beaten out of him rather than just being bored to death. Knuckles, meanwhile, took a peak at his opponent's hand and threw his cards on the floor.

"How in the world does a toy get a Royal Flush in a Poker game? !"

While Luigi, Bowser, and Ganondorf just looked on, Mario gave the book back to Hagra.

"Thanks for getting this, yes. Let me give you this as thanks, sonny! Eh eh eh eh eh! Good bye, young man!"

She handed Mario the key that unlocked the next door to The Overthere, and Mario thanked her as well. Luigi was trying to snap Knuckles out of the shock that he had lost to a stuffed animal while Ganondorf and Bowser used teamwork to haul Sonic up off the floor. Right as they were getting ready to leave, a frazzled Tails and calm Eggman came bursting through the door.

"We were sent back to the start…" Tails trailed while twitching.

"And we told that dorkish D-Man to record the show," huffed Eggman. Hagitha looked thoroughly please.

"Yes, yes, yes! Good show, boys!" she then grabbed Tails' arm, pulled him close, and whispered something in his ear. Tails' twitchy expression was quickly replaced with a thoughtful one.

"Huh…I guess that's good to know…"

"What did she say, exactly?" asked Luigi. Tails shrugged.

"I'll share when the time comes…but MAN! Do you know what we had to trek through? ! Ugh…"

"Well, it's all over now…" Sonic trailed with a shudder. "Can we please get to the Overthere now?"

Mario: Oh yeah.

. . .

Through the now unlocked door, the group continued on through the Underwhere Road, with Luvbi tagging along as well. And she was certain to start up on the insults she had been pondering over while she was left alone. Sonic, Knuckles, Ganondorf, and Luigi were having a hard time with it, but Mario managed to slightly push her off to the side and explained to Luigi that he needed to take control.

"How dareth you shoveth me out of the way! The nerve that thou have! I-"

"Why's that, Bro?" Luigi responded to Mario as Luvbi continued to ramble to the side. Mario pointed forward- there was a gap that the group couldn't cross. Now, if they had any member of Team ZAP, it would've been possible, but they didn't. Mario then pointed up- there was a series of cliffs they could use to get by, but only Team Luigi could get up there. "Okay, I see what you mean…Tails, Knuckles, we're taking control!"

"What's that?" Knuckles asked.

"Just head on up, Knuckles," Tails replied, flying up onto the hard-to-reach cliff while Luigi made it in one bound. Knuckles shrugged and jammed his fists into the side, climbing up rather quickly. The three of them then continued to follow Luvbi and Luigi jumped from cliff to cliff, Knuckles glided over all of them, and Tails flew over everyone. On the other side was a set of stairs that ascended upwards, and input from Luvbi revealed that they were finally getting near the Overthere.

"Finally!" groaned Knuckles.

"Uh, guys…" Luigi trailed, pointing to an oncoming rock. "We might have a slight problem…"

"All we have to is jump over-"

The darkness in the area suddenly consumed them all. Luigi and Tails exchanged a look in the dark before Tails flew up and grabbed Luigi, hoping that they managed to make it over. Knuckles, meanwhile, instinctively flashed his fist forward, making contact with the rock and shattering it into bits.

"Bowser! Light the place up again, darn it!"

"Fine! There is a nice way to tell people…"

Bowser lit up the nearest sconce once again, and the darkness was repelled by the single flame.

"good, we can see now…" Luigi sighed in relief.

"Yeah it's a good thing! That way we can see when danger is rolling right at us!" Tails exclaimed.

Team Luigi made it to the end, where Knuckles kept wanting to go forward. Luigi, however, noticed a second path above their heads while Tails explained that if they kept going forward, they'd fall off an edge.

"Besides, the way to The Overthere is by going up, yea?" Luvbi added. "It art obvious."

"Quiet Luvbi…" Knuckles growled as he followed Luigi and Tails upward, then slammed his fist into another rolling Thwomp. When they finally reached the top, Luigi removed control, and everyone else appeared beside them.

"Ah, that never gets old!" sighed Sonic.

"I still don't understand it! GWARG!" Bowser roared.

Mario told Luigi "good job", making his brother smile as he walked up to the door at the end of the path. Feeling that it was probably another Dorguy, Mario called forth Tippi and aimed her at the door.

"This door…it IS another Dorguy…"

"Oh no…travelers have come?" he questioned, his face appearing just like the previous doors. "Halt! Queen Jaydes demands I guard this, people! I am Dorguy the Third. I've gotta take a sec and see if you guys are worthy to pass through. Can I get a little…UNDERCHOMP? !"

"Did he just say Under-"

A Chomp with three heads, one red, one blue, and one yellow, appeared out of thin air, looking pretty restless.

"Aw, why couldn't there be a Green Chomp? Those are nice!" Luigi complained.

"There's no such thing as a Green Chomp!" snorted Bowser. Tails gave him a look.

"You wanna bet?"

Everyone else just gawked at the actually ferocious-looking Chomp creature. Dorguy chuckled to himself.

"If you folks are worthy of passing through, you should be able to beat this guy. Ready? ! GO!"

"He stole my li-"

The Blue Chomp charged forward at Sonic and Luigi, and suddenly the group found themselves being transported to a weird battle area.

"…I think we're taking turns!" Bowser suddenly exclaimed.

"Just like the old days!" "This is how REAL men fight!"

Underchomp attacks!

Mario used jump!

It wasn't very effective…

Sonic used Action Chain! But it failed!

Red Underchomp attacks Mario! Mario takes damage!

Blue Underchomp gathers strength!

Yellow Underchomp expels stinky breath!

Oh no! It's putrid! Sonic takes damage!

Luigi dodges the breath like a pro! But he can't attack!

Tails uses Piccolo!

Piccolo plays a strange song!

Underchomp falls into a deep sleep! Underchomp is taking a nice nap...

Knuckles uses Uppercut!

Blue Underchomp takes 10 damage!

Underchomp is taking a nice nap…

Bowser uses Thudley! A heavy-duty attack!

Red Underchomp takes 20 damage!

It's super effective!

You defeated Red Underchomp!

Ganondorf uses Warlock Kick!

Blue Underchomp takes 10 damage!

You defeated Blue Underchomp!

Eggman uses Missile Barrage!

Yellow Underchomp gets pwned! Yellow Underchomp takes 20 damage!

It's super effective!

You defeated Yellow Underchomp!

You defeated the Underchomp!

Team Mario receives 6000 experience points!

Team Luigi receives 6500 experience points!

Team BEG receives over 9000 experience points!

. . .

"Hey, check you folks out!" the Dorguy announced, obviously impressed. "You beat the Underchomp…good work. Head on in!"

"Well, it helped that Hagitha gave me that tip about using Piccolo," Tails pointed out.

"Pah, we could've beat those chump without singing them a lullabye!" scoffed Bowser.

Nevertheless, the group all celebrated and rejoiced, Mario making his way through and opening the door. When the group all piled in, they saw it was a tunnel of some sort…

"Look…I see a light!" "Don't go into the light!" "I think in this case we might need to."

"Hey wait…" Sonic trailed, looking upward. "I think that light is coming from the Overthere!"

"We're literally almost there now!" cheered Luigi. "Yeah!"

"Well what are we waiting for?" Ganondorf asked. "The faster we get there the faster we can get rid of Luvbi."

"And I willeth be very pleased," Luvbi added in a stuck up manner. "…simply because I will not hath to travel with thee any longer!"

Mario obeyed everyone's wish and hit the Star Block before they ascended into the heavenly light…

. . .

Our heroes had found their way out of the dark and confusion of The Underwhere. Mario and friends now saw the sun shining brightly against a beautiful blue sky. This was the sky paradise Grambi called home, a place of joy called The Overthere. Somewhere above the never-ending layers of clouds waited Grambi himself. Mario and his friends began to make their way up that fluffy road to above…

* * *

**Finally not a filler chapter! Whew... but man I love this one! (And I know I say that pretty oftem. XD)**


	47. The Forbidden Apple

Super Paper Mario X

Chapter 47: The Forbidden Apple

Sonic lay on the ground that was a cloud, practically covering himself with the soft fluffy substance. Mario became curious enough to ask what the heck he was doing.

"What? After going through the underworld, I'm just trying to savor the paradise in the sky!"

"It's so…heavenly…" Tails trailed.

"Well of course it would be!" exclaimed Ganondorf. "…and I don't like it."

"Sniff…it's one of the most beautiful places I've ever been…" sniffled Luigi.

"It's just a sky!" cried Bowser.

"Ah me, blue skies again!" Luvbi cheered in contrast to Bowser's tone. "If we continue upward, we'll soon be in The Overthere. Let us away!"

"Yes…" agreed Tippi. "That sounds well and good, but we have yet to find Peach…I'm so worried…"

"Yeah," added Bowser, folding his arms and looking serious. "She's gotta be feeling lonely without her burly, awesome hubby at her side!"

Mario smacked his forehead. Luvbi, however, heard Bowser's words and gleefully turned to him.

"Pray, I would understand this! Is yon Peach the lady friend of Mario?"

Mario was about to respond when Bowser shoved him out of the way and violently shook his head at Luvbi.

"Hey, shut yon trap, Fluffy! You're talking about the WIFE of Lord Bowser!"

Luvbi's happy look changed to a sarcastic one. "Oh, verily? But the damsel looms high in his regard, is this not so? A one-sided crush then, mayhap."

She then floated upwards and hovered over a cloud. "Ah me, enough idle blather! I shall run ahead, so keepest up if thou canst! If thou climbest too slowly, the sun will set, so shaketh a leg!"

Luvbi managed to fly away before Sonic could get up off the cloud and shake an angry fist at her. Luigi, on the other hand, looked somewhat worried as well.

"Speaking of Peach…" he trailed. "Malon and Meta Knight are still missing as well! And we couldn't contact Meta Knight…"

"Kirby is nowhere to be found also…" added Tails.

Mario: Amy's missing too…

"Haven't seen Samus either…" Knuckles mused.

"Link and Zelda are still gone too…" finished Sonic. He then put on a determined look. "Well, we'll find them before this over, so let's stop missing them and get to finding them!"

Mario: Right!

The only direction to go in the sky was up, but for most of the group, that wasn't too bad. A few enjoyed the sights while others spoiled the moment by saying they were wasting time "dancing on clouds". Mario rolled his eyes at Ganondorf's latest comment and continued to jump from cloud to cloud, Luigi, Sonic, and Knuckles teaming up occasionally to take out the Buzzies, Cherbils, and other enemies that loomed the sky. Tails hit a ? Block and found a Super Shroom while Ganondorf stepped on a yellow platform.

"You might wanna hurry…" he practically sang. The rest of the group jumped on it quickly…except for Bowser.

"AW COME ON!"

So the group had to wait on Cloud 13 for Bowser to catch up with them. By the time Bowser finally did, Team Luigi had taken control and began to jump up to higher clouds that the others couldn't reach. Once Knuckles took out a Parabuzzy flying up and down between two clouds, Tails concluded that they had hit a dead end.

"Remember what Luvbi said…" Luigi reminded Tails as he started to crouch down. "The only way to go is up!"

Luigi rocketed upwards, Tails and Knuckles staring at each other before flying up after him. Luigi landed on a higher cloud, where a pretty puffy cloud was waiting for them. When Tails caught up, he walked over and gave the cloud a poke.

"this cloud has a very bouncy exterior…I wonder if we could use it to jump even higher!"

"I'll try it!" Knuckles exclaimed, taking a daring leap and landing on the cloud. The next thing Luigi and Tail knew, Knuckles went skyrocketing. Tails blinked.

"I guess that answers my question."

Luigi and Tails jumped on the cloud as well, flying up through several more. Tails even stuck his tongue out and tasted a cloud. To his disappointment, it didn't taste like cotton candy at all. Meanwhile, Knuckles was walking around on one of the higher clouds and discovered a Slow Flower. Not knowing what it was, he grabbed it and winced as the world went into slow motion.

"Whoooaaaa…whaaaaat's gooooing oooon?"

He then turned around and saw Luigi and Tails flying up through the cloud he was standing on- in slow motion. For anyone else, the looks on their faces would've been hilarious. They continued flying upwards until they hit the cloud above Knuckles, and Knuckles slowly ran off to keep up with them.

Luigi realized they were moving slowly, but as soon as he had finally adjusted, the slowness went away, and the jump he had been preparing was twice as powerful as usual...

...Meaning that he pretty much shot upwards at bullet speed.

_"YAAAAAAAAH!"_

"Luigi! Wait for me!" Tails cried, hopping on another Jump-Over Cloud and taking off after him.

"Both of you! Wait for me!" Knuckles panted as well, reaching the Jump-Over Cloud. Instead of jumping onto it, he tripped, landing belly-first on it, and went flying up with his back facing the sky.

While that was happening, Luigi landed on a cloud that contained a red-rainbow door. He started to enter it when Tails came flying back down and landed gently next to him.

"That was kind of fun! We should do it again!"

"Eh, we'll see Tails…"

"In any case, we'd better-"

"GERONIMO! ! !"

"What the-OOMPH!"

Knuckles came crashing down and landed on both Luigi and Tails, causing them to lose control and for the other five members of the current group to appear. Sonic took one look and shook his head.

"Looks like Knuckles strikes again!"

"Oog, I've got a face full of cloud now…"

Mario just shook his head, walked across Cloud 20, and entered the door. Who would've thought cloud jumping could be so dangerous?

**Stair 2-**

Stair 2 began on Cloud 21, with a Boomboxer dancing on top of a row of ? Blocks and the Void as big as life in the background. Tails frowned.

"Well, the giant mass of black and purple certainly takes away from the peaceful sky outlook…"

"I think it compliments it nicely," Ganondorf said simply.

"Are you sure you're not colorblind or anything?" Eggman asked.

"Maybe he just sees the world in black and white," shrugged Bowser.

"Oh, does it really matter?" huffed Sonic, already defeating the Boomboxer and claiming the objects in the ? Blocks. "We've got people to find and places to go!"

Unfortunately, the objects were four Zombie Shrooms and a Fast Flower, and suddenly Sonic hatched a grand idea. Eggman saw the look on his face and gulped.

"He better not be thinking what I think he's thinking…"

Sonic grabbed the Fast Flower, summoned Dashell's power, and took off at the speed of sound.

"HE'SGONNABLOW-"

BOOM.

Minds were blown, unable to process the sheer amount of speed Sonic took off at. Heck, everyone wondered if Sonic could even comprehend how fast he was going! The only thing Mario could tell was that there was a sharp blue streak bounding through the clouds, enemies went flying in all directions, and the rest of the team had been propelled into the air like someone dropped a bomb.

"YEAH!" shouted Sonic, though it took awhile to actually hear his shout. Anything he plowed into died instantly, enemy-wise, and it was literally impossible for the rest of the group to keep up with speed like that.

"Woo! NowthisiswhatIcallextreme!" cheered Dashell.

Sonic ran over a series of clouds until he trampled onto a Jump-Over Cloud, where he was blasted into the air like a firework. When he was as high as he was going to go, the Fast Flower wore off, and Sonic removed Dashell's power.

"That was totally awesome! I wanna do it again!" he exclaimed on his way back down. "Talk about a speed experience like never before!"

"I agree! Seriously!" Dashell huffed. "Really exhilarating!"

When he landed on Cloud 24, he waited for everyone else to catch up with him, then jumped on the next Jump-Over Cloud, then ran toward the right. The cloud had two Rawbuses romping around, but Sonic simply flipped to 3D to get by, then opened the chest they were guarding.

It contained a Rawbus card.

"Well, that makes things easier!"

"Sonic! Why are you suddenly so hyperactive?" Luigi asked as Knuckles took on the Rawbuses. Sonic shrugged.

"I dunno. I guess that sudden boost of speed made me really crazy…"

"More crazy than usual?" snorted Ganondorf.

"Shaddup."

Anyway, carrying on, the group returned to the previous cloud, then jumped on the Jump-Over Cloud that rested upon it. As soon as they landed once again, they were greeted by three Ruff Puffs and a Boomboxer. Ganondorf took them all out with one firewall while Bowser jumped onto Clouds 27 and 28.

"Huff…hoo…this is going to take forever to climb!" he complained.

"I know! And it's so boring!" added Sonic. "I love the landscape, but nothing's happening."

"If you'd like," Luigi began. "I could take control and maybe get us up there faster?"

"But then we wouldn't get to do anything at all," Eggman pointed out.

"Well, take your pick. Do absolutely nothing, or get somewhere faster so you can do something," grunted Knuckles.

"I dunno if I wanna take control- Knuckles landing on me once is enough for me!" exclaimed Tails.

"It wasn't intended, ya know!"

Mario thought it over, then gave Luigi the go-ahead. He grinned and jumped into the air.

"All right! Thanks Bro!" he turned to the Tails and Knuckles. "OK, then, let's go!"

"Yeah…hopefully this won't take too much longer now," Tails wished as he twirled his tails and took off higher into the sky.

"I do have to wonder where the flying brat went off to…" Knuckles mused to himself.

So leaving Mario, Sonic, and Team BEG to wait until Team Luigi reached a certain point, Luigi, Tails and Knuckles continued to ascend into the clouds. Luigi and Tails were able to easily bypass many of the clouds, but Knuckles was the one having the most trouble. He mainly relied on the jump over clouds to get him from place to place. When they reached Cloud 30, a door leading to Stair 3 was behind it. Luigi and Tails waited patiently for Knuckles, then continued on.

**Stair 3-**

"Boom goes the Boomboxers!" Knuckles cried, smashing his fists into the ground and defying psychics by causing an earthquake throughout the cloud. Any and all enemies on Cloud 31 succumbed to the shockwaves.

"Who would've thought the way to heaven could be so long," groaned Luigi, flying upwards with the help of a Jump-Over Cloud. He landed on Cloud 32, then glanced upwards to his right and found a door on Cloud 33. "Hey, guys! Up here!"

"Coming!" chirped Tails. He landed softly beside Luigi while Knuckles once again landed on a cloud with a thud. Luckily Luigi and Tails weren't his targets for touching back down.

Luigi pulled open the door and stuck his head in- the lone thing being in the area was an apple tree…

Thing was, the apples were blue, and the tree was made out of clouds like everything else.

"Whoa, cool!" cheered Tails, running over. "I can't believe blue apples grow in the sky!"

"Careful Tails, we don't know if those are poisonous or not!" warned Luigi. Knuckles just shrugged.

"I doubt they're poisonous if they're in heaven."

Luigi gave Knuckles a look, then hurried over to Tails, trying to knock an apple down with his wrench.

"Tails!"

"But Luigi! The tree even has a rainbow on it!" Tails pointed out. "That can't possibly be bad!"

"He has a point," added Knuckles. Luigi folded his arms.

"Fine! Eat one, and if you turn into a fish or something, don't come crying to me!"

"…okay!"

Tails gave up on hacking at the tree, Knuckles helping out by striking the tree with a single punch. All three blue apples toppled out of the tree, one landing in Tails' hand, one hitting Knuckles in the head, and one landing softly on the ground. Tails blinked, then bit into his apple. Luigi quickly shielded his eyes.

"…yum! This is the best thing I've ever tasted!"

Luigi took a quick peek between his fingers, and noticed that nothing was happening to Tails besides enjoying an apple. Knuckles was furiously rubbing his head.

"I can't blame anyone but me for that…" he groaned.

"I say we take one for the road!" Tails decided, grabbing the apple on the ground and storing it away. "You never know when we'll need it!"

"But what about this one?" Luigi asked, holding up the one that hit Knuckles in the head. "It already feel out of the tree, so it'd be a waste if we left it…"

Tails looked thoughtful, grabbed the apple, tossed it into the air, then took out a saw and sliced it perfectly in in half. He put the sword away then caught both halves of the apple.

"You and Knuckles can share it!"

"Well, I guess I AM a bit famished after getting a Game Over…" Knuckles pondered, taking his half and swallowing it. "…hey! This is good!"

Luigi took a reluctant bite of his, then agreed that it_ was_ pretty delicious, though slightly weird. He slowly nibbled his, unlike Knuckles, and exited out of the door.

. . .

They located a Ruff Puff card on Cloud 34, and continued the ascent. Knuckles defeated the foes on Cloud 35, Tails took out a Ruff Puff on 36, and Luigi prepared a Super Jump on Cloud 37.

"how come some of these clouds are numbered?" Knuckles asked, waiting for Luigi to spring.

"I dunno," Tails shrugged. "But I'm kinda upset that we missed Cloud 9."

Luigi sprung up, but, there was no cloud above their heads to land on.

"Well that's weird…"

"I'm guessing that's as far as we can go," said Knuckles.

"Okay…" Luigi sighed, removing control and having Mario, Sonic, and the villains return to their side.

"Are we at the Overthere yet?" Sonic asked, looking around.

"No, we're stuck," Tails explained. "We can't jump any higher…"

"So I guess Mario and I have to take control," Sonic replied, turning to the plumber who gave a thumbs up.

"Still nothing for the bad guys…" grumbled Bowser.

Nevertheless, Mario and Sonic threw up their arms and flipped into 3D. They discovered a hidden path that led off of Cloud 37 made entirely of ? Blocks. Walking across, they flipped back into 2D, climbed down (passing Cloud 38), then used a Jump-Over Cloud to get to Cloud 39.

"That was simple," Sonic shrugged. Mario nodded in agreement, then decided to just keep going. They reached Cloud 40 very quickly, and also the way out of Stair 3.

**Stair 4-**

"Whoa, lots of ways to go on this stair," Knuckles remarked, gazing at all the clouds, yellow platforms, and brick blocks towering above them.

"Do you guys want to jump around again?" Bowser asked Luigi while Tails and Mario battled a Squig and a Squog on Cloud 42. Luigi shrugged.

"It is okay with you, Mario?"

Mario jumped off the cloud once he had successfully taken care of the Squig, then nodded to Luigi.

Mario: Of course!

"Yeah, Mario takes control whenever the heck he feels like it, so you can too," murmured Ganondorf.

"And you act like we don't," huffed Eggman.

"Whose side are you on?"

Before the debate began to heat up, Luigi took control, and he, Tails, and Knuckles bounded up once again. Knuckles took a path with a Lakitu, and considering the cloud underneath the brown blocks he was standing on was Cloud 44, he figured this was the right way to go.

Tails explored over Cloud 42, but not finding anything of interest. Luigi took the yellow platform, only for it to reach a suspicious-feeling door on Cloud 43.

"Guys, over here!"

"Why, Thunder? The right way is over here!" called Knuckles, waving frantically. Luigi shook his head.

"No…I think we should check this door out first…"

Knuckles sighed, then followed Luigi. Tails, naturally, was already there, and Luigi pushed the door open.

What he found on the other side caused him to lose control, have the rest of the group appear next to him, and then for the rest of the group to be in just as much shock.

"Mario, look!" cried Tippi frantically.

"I think we see…" gaped Sonic.

Princess Peach was lying under another cloudy tree, eyes closed, and Kirby was by her side, crying up a storm.

The only other thing around was a discarded Golden Apple with a single bite missing frmo it.

Everyone approached cautiously; Kirby stopped sniffling, turned to the group, then broke out into sobs again.

"What's so wrong Kirby?" Luigi asked.

"Besides the fact that Peach looks dead," Ganondorf said bluntly, only to be punched by Bowser and to receive an earful from Tippi.

"We…we woke up next to each other, by this tree, you know…" he blubbered. "We didn't know where anyone else was, or what to do…and I…found the apple on the tree… WAAAH! IT'S ALL MY FAULT!"

"What's your fault?" Sonic questioned sternly.

"We were both hungry, and before we both set out to see if the rest of you were around, we were gonna have a snack…I picked the apple and offered her the first bite before I devoured it whole…well, the first bite was apparently her last because SHE WON'T WAKE UP NOW!"

"Oh, come on! This is plain annoying…" Bowser scoffed. He bent forward and bellowed out with a roar that nearly made everyone's hearts stop. "GET UUUUP!"

"I'm deaf…I know I said it before…but really, I think I'm deaf…" whimpered Tails, ears pressed firmed against his head while he was shaking violently.

"Mmmm…man, this girl can sleep, huh? I mean, that was serious roar right there!"

"If only I didn't make her eat the apple!" Kirby wailed. "I'm so cruel…"

"C'mon Kirby, you didn't know the apple was going to cause her to, well, go to sleep…" trailed Sonic. Mario bent down to Peach's side and rapidly shook her- she didn't even stir. Tippi hovered over his shoulder, her voice sounding very solemn.

"What are we going to do…poor Peach…"

"Ah me…Prithee, tell me…Princess Peach, I assume?"

Everyone looked up at the arrival of Luvbi, from wherever she had been loitering about. She took one glance at the princess and the apple and put on a blank face.

"She hath eaten of the golden fruit. She lacketh the common sense, I fear."

"Golden…fruit?" Tippi trailed, as always.

Luvbi floated down to Peach's side and held up the bitten Golden Apple. Giving it a disdainful look, she tossed it over the side of the cloud.

"The Overthere teemeth with magical trees whose fruit maketh many an odd effect. The fruit of golden hue maketh people so satisfied, they falleth into a deep sleep. And I mean DEEP sleep…The kind thou dost not wake up from for a hundred years…"

"WHAT?" yelled Kirby, suddenly starting to look faint.

"A hun-hundred years? !" stammered Luigi.

"You've GOTTA be kidding!" wailed Bowser. "Look, I'm a patient Koopa, but I'm not THAT patient!"

"Luvbi…isn't there any way to wake her up sooner?" Tippi asked weakly. Luvbi just glared back.

"Pray, wherefore would I know of such…" her expression then changed. "Ah, but hold a moment…I do remember my father's words of long ago. Yea, he said one tree in The Overthere bore a taboo fruit that could waketh anyone…"

"Taboo fruit? What kind of tree has that sort of thing?"

"Pray…wherefore should I know, huh? !"

"So then all we know is that we need to find a kind of fruit…Marvelous."

"W-Well, we've gotta do something!" Luigi urged. "Let's go find any fruit we can!"

"Of course!" Tippi cried.

"I refuse to let Peach sleep like this any longer!" Bowser exclaimed.

"We'll tear up every cloud in the sky if we need to!" Knuckles added.

"All right!" threw in Sonic.

Mario: Oh yeah!

"sigh…might as well only help because I get the feeling we'll need Peach just to get out of here," stated Ganondorf.

"My thoughts exactly," agreed Eggman.

Luvbi watched the group with an uninterested glance. "So, yon Princess Peach…All seem to holdeth her in regard most high…"

"Peach does seem to be…uh…how do I put it?" Sonic asked.

"Well I know what you mean," shrugged Kirby, finishing drying off his face.

"Of course she's high in my regards! She's my wife!" exclaimed Bowser.

"Oh, can it."

"Hmmmmmph!" Luvbi growled, starting to fly away. "Do what thou wantest! I am NOT helping! I am SULKING!"

She flee off in a huff, leaving the team unable to predict when they'd see her again.

"Well, sounds like someone's jealous," scoffed Ganondorf.

"Peach makes a better princess than Luvbi, and that's saying something!" added Bowser.

"Yeah, cuz you always kidnap her like some sort of stalker!" Knuckles shot back.

"Shut up!"

"Well…you can't not like Peach," Luigi shrugged. "I mean, sometimes she may do things to annoy you, but…she's really not that bad!"

"I remember how she used to be…" Sonic trailed. "She's changed so much, more than nearly all of us…"

"I just hope we'll be able to wake her up…" Tippi sighed. Tails was thinking hard, then suddenly his eyes hot open.

"My apple!"

"What about your apple?" Luigi asked as Tails pulled out the blue fruit.

"When'd you get that?" Eggman asked.

"When we took control. It was growing on a tree just like the one Peach is lying under…" he started at the light blue fruit and looked hopeful. "Maybe this is the taboo fruit that'll wake her up!"

"But it tasted delicious to us," Knuckles pointed out.

"If not a little weird," added Luigi.

"Well try it anyway!" ordered Bowser.

"Okay, okay…"

He walked up to Mario and handed him the apple. In turn, he fed it to Peach.

"Well, I do hope this wakes her up…" moaned Tippi.

Everyone suddenly tensed up…only for Peach to shrink to a microscopic size.

"I-I guess it's not THAT one…"

Mario tapped Peach on the head, which luckily got her to return to normal size.

"Okay, new plan- we've gotta find another apple that will wake her up!" Tails cried. "And with luck, it won't be one that has some funky side effect…"

"You guys go on ahead!" Kirby demanded, striking a heroic pose. "I'll stay here and watch Peach, since I fed her the apple!"

"You still didn't know that it-"

"Don't try to change my mind! It's the noble thing to do!" he then blink and scratched the back of his head. "Erm, by the way…how'd you guys all get here?"

"Well, Mario, Luigi, Tails, and I woke up in the Underwhere, opposite of this place," Sonic explained. "And while we were taking Luvbi to the Overthere we found Bowser, Eggman, Ganondorf, and Knuckles all locked up in the Underwhere Road because the D-Men thought they were monsters."

"And we found you and Peach!" Luigi cheered.

"And Malon, Zelda, Link, Meta Knight, Amy, and Samus are still among the clouds somewhere…" Tails finished. "Which reminds me- Kirby, hand me yours and Peach's watches! I'll have them all fixed up by the time we return!"

Kirby pondered this for several moments, then shrugged and handed his rainbow watch to Tails. He hopped over to Peach, removed the pink watch from her wrist, and gave it to Tails as well.

"Since you're the one that made them, I guess I trust that you'll take care of them!" Kirby said cheerfully.

"They'll be as good as new, I promise!" Tails replied.

"Now, you guys head off, and I'll guard Peach like no tomorrow."

The group watched as Kirby marched back in forth in front of Peach, and it looked like he wasn't about to stop anytime soon. Mario shook his head- typical Kirby- and ventured out the door to go find a way to wake up Peach.

. . .

"Now can we go the way I suggested?" Knuckles pleaded, trying to usher everyone to the Jump-Over Cloud he located.

"Not until we explore where this platform leads!" Sonic exclaimed, jumping onto the next platform and riding it up. Knuckles muttered something under his breath and continued his way nevertheless.

The double irony was that everyone else followed him.

Mario already knew Sonic could find his way back, so he jumped onto the Jump-Over Cloud Knuckles kept griping about, and they all took off higher up into the sky. They kept heading upwards until they landed on Cloud 46, which contained a door.

Upon entering, the group had to hop and leap over a series of tiny clouds until they came to a red apple tree. Luigi looked up at the apple and seemed perplexed.

"I dunno, is this apple…?"

"I say we grab every apple we find until we can't find anymore!" Eggman declared while Knuckles knocked the three apples out of the tree with his fist. He picked up one of them while Tails grabbed the other two; one he ate and one for just in case.

"This one tastes like a normal apple!" Tails remarked. "Dunno if that means its taboo or not, but I doubt it…it's still worth a try though."

"If you say so," shrugged Bowser, exiting the door.

. . .

"Hmph!" Sonic greeted them once they returned. "Way to wait up for me!"

"Eh, sorry…" Tails sweatdropped. "But, uh, did you find anything of interest?"

"Yeah, a Shroom Shake…that I drank! And the rest of the way up is via the elevators as well, so you might want to head that way," he snuck a smirk at Knuckles. "And you thought your way was right-"

"Grrrrrr…"

Mario followed Sonic's instructions and headed up the duo elevators, which eventually led up to a Jump-Over Cloud. Springing upwards, they landed on Cloud 48, and reaching what was seemingly a dead end.

"Teleport, Mario?" Sonic asked, and the duo entered the third dimension. Knuckles blinked once they were gone.

"Whoa, that…totally blows my mind…"

Mario walked onto Cloud 49, then walked down a path that the others couldn't and found a cloud cast off in the distance. A door rested on that cloud as well, and Mario was hoping that it contained the fruit that would save Peach…

. . .

Upon entering, Mario and Sonic found a Yellow Apple tree (despite the apple looking more orange than yellow). They removed control, causing the others to appear next to them. Bowser summoned Thudley and slammed into the ground, causing two of the apples to fall out of the tree. Tails grabbed both of them, devouring one instantly.

"This one tastes good too, just for the record!" he announced. "Hmm…I wonder if there's anyone that can make apple juice for me…"

Luigi smacked his forehead.

. . .

After returning back to Cloud 49 and reverting out of 3D, the quest for apples continued. They ventured toward the right, Team BEG being the ones to wipe out any foes that got in their way. Once they reached cloud 50, they discovered it had the door that led to Stair 5, and Mario was really, really hoping that there wouldn't be too many stairs after that…

**Stair 5-**

On Cloud 51, there was automatically another door right next to them. Instinct caused Mario to go check it out, but when everyone entered, there was nothing in there.

"Well that's a rip off," huffed Ganondorf. "Oh well, let's just go back-"

"Mario, check in 3D," Tippi practically ordered. Mario nodded and did so, discovering another tree, this one with Pink Apples. Sonic entered the third dimension as well, spin dashing into it and knocking all three apples down. When they returned to 2D, Mario gave his apple to Luigi while Sonic gave Tails the other two. Tails instantly took a bite of one.

"…it tastes like pink lemonade!"

"I hope it'll be taboo enough for Peach," Bowser grunted.

. . .

Back in the previous area, Team Luigi took control, since the rest of the crew couldn't jump onto the cloud above. They landed on Cloud 52, where there was three ways to go- a Jump-Over Cloud, a platform, and a door. Tails wanted the platform and Knuckles wanted the Cloud, but Luigi entered the door.

"Uh, something tells me this was a bad idea…" gulped Tails, seeing the door suddenly lock itself and enemies to advance toward them.

"I didn't know it was a trap!" wailed Luigi.

"Something's odd about these creatures, though…" Knuckles trailed as he approached a blue one. "They look like they came from The Underwhere!"

"But we haven't seen anything like this down there!" Tails exclaimed, battering a reddish-purple one with his wrench.

"Yeah…but do these things look like they'd be native to The Overthere?" Luigi asked while jumping on the final one. They weren't too much of a threat, but the mere fact that the creatures were even there was awfully disturbing…

"Wait…" Tails suddenly trailed. "Remember the monster that escaped from The Underwhere?"

"Which wasn't me!" Knuckles cried. "…or Team BEG…"

"Could those things have been…minions of the real monster that escaped?" Luigi pondered. Tails nodded and looked upwards.

"Maybe…and something tells me that that monster has already reached The Overthere, and we're getting close…"

. . .

Luigi, Tails, and Knuckles left the trap area and pondered over which way to go- left or right? They decided on the cloud, but when they reached Cloud 54, it was obvious they weren't going to get much farther.

"Well this is great…" Luigi huffed. "We can't get to The Overthere without Peach!"

"I mean, Knuckles and I could fly over there, and Kirby probably could too…" Tails pondered. "But it's impossible for anyone else to get over there without Peach's help!"

"So waking her up is more crucial than we thought…" Knuckles trailed as he and the rest of his team jumped back down to Cloud 52. They took the alternate route via the elevator, and they all jumped to Cloud 53 and killed a Squog. Moments later, they removed control.

"Okay, what's wrong this time?" Sonic asked.

"Well first off, we found out we can't get out of here until we wake Peach up," Tails explained.

"And second, we might need your flipping expertise," added knuckles.

"Once again, we're like chopped liver," sighed Eggman.

"We were so much more useful in The Underwhere…" Bowser groaned.

"I wonder why," Sonic snickered, throwing up his hands and entering 3D with Mario. They traversed another hidden path made of cloud and reached a far away door. Once they entered, the duo removed control and advanced toward the tree.

"Black Apples?" Luigi asked. He glanced down at Tails. "Are you going to try that one too?"

Tails shrugged. "Well, why not?"

_"Because it tastes awful."_

"How do you know that, Luigi?"

"Eh, that wasn't me…"

Everyone turned to the tree as it started to violently shake, followed by a whizzing navy blue blur streaking out of the cloudy leaves. With a swoop towards the ground, Meta Knight landed back on his feet, right in front of Luigi. Everyone just gawked while Luigi managed to scrape up something to say.

"Meta Knight…?" he asked in disbelief. The knight took a small bow and nodded.

"It's good to see you again, Luigi. It's been far too long…"

"Mettie!" cheered Tails, running over and fighting the urge to hug the warrior. Meta Knight stopped bowing and gave Tails a look.

"I told you not to call me that. I still don't know what possessed you to design such a nickname…"

"Hey, no hello for Knuckles?" Knuckles asked, spreading out his arms. Meta Knight chuckled slightly and the duo shared a highfive.

"How did you all end up here?" Meta Knight asked afterward.

"Eh, can we ask why you were up an apple tree?" Sonic questioned.

"Yeah, I tried to call you on your watch, but you didn't answer!" Luigi recalled.

"Which reminds me, I have to get cracking on Kirby's and Peach's watches…" Tails trailed, pulling out said objects and beginning to fumble with them. Meta Knight wrapped himself up in his cape before he wove his tale.

"I don't know where to begin…I don't really remember anything…" he trailed darkly. "It started when I was back home…I was in the Halberd, watching the skies like I always do…only for it to suddenly tear, a huge mass of purple and black emerging and swallowing up all the peaceful lands…"

"Oh yeah, Kirby mentioned that you were swallowed up!" Bowser exclaimed, proud that he had remembered.

"Perhaps that is how you ended up here…" Eggman trailed.

"But wouldn't that mean he really did get his Game over?" asked Ganondorf.

Meta Knight's interest was piqued. "You've had contact with Kirby?"

"Yeah," Sonic nodded. "He managed to escape from his world by teleporting before it was utterly destroyed…he feels really bad that he left you behind, plus he's been in turmoil about how his world no longer exists…"

"No, the error is mine. I was foolish to stop running when I knew that if I did, I'd be doomed…" he then turned his gaze upwards. "However, The Void isn't the cause of how I ended up here."

"Really?" Luigi asked. Tails, who was finishing up with the watches, suddenly gave Meta Knight his undivided attention.

"W-What do you remember Meta Knight…?"

"It's not much…but I recall waking up in a huge, black castle…"

"Castle Bleck," Luigi, Tails, and Knuckles murmured. Luigi blinked and turned to the latter two.

"Hey, how do you two know what that place looks like?"

Before Tails could do anything, Knuckles explained. "Well, see, when everyone disappeared, Tails and I tried to teleport to the center of dimensions-"

Mario: Flipside.

"-Yeah, there, but we ended up inside The Void instead…in Count Bleck's castle!"

"That would explain why my watch told me that you two were around…" Luigi realized. "I guess I must've been done in before I ran into you guys…"

Luigi suddenly let out a pained cry.

"ACK! I remember now! I remember something really bad!"

"What, what? !" shouted Sonic, the villains, Knuckles, and Meta Knight.

"Do you remember what happened before you were 'killed'?" Tails asked frantically. Luigi nodded, and Tails felt his heart jump.

"Y-Yeah…right as Count Bleck's goons were approaching me…I was…I was with Malon!" he fell to the ground, saddened. "I put her behind me, to keep her safe…and I was trying to tell her something, but I remember being zapped, and everything went black, and when I woke up, I was in The Underwhere."

Tails looked perplexed, and he tried his hardest to make it not look so obvious. But what Luigi said was definitely not was he was expecting to hear.

"What if they got to Malon after they did away with Luigi?" Ganondorf suggested.

"That has to be what must've happened…" Eggman trailed. "It's the only way that Malon can tie into all of this."

"If that's what happened, then…I knew I'm a bad luck charm!" Luigi cried.

"Easy there, Thunder! What more could you have done?" Knuckles asked, even going as far as to place a hand on his shoulder. Meta Knight blinked.

"You mentioned…being zapped?" He asked, turning to Luigi. "I recall that as well. That's the last thing I do remember before I woke up under this apple tree. And I'm guessing that you tried to call me after I decided to sample one of these apples- it tasted so bad it knocked me right out!"

"Well that's peculiar…" Sonic pondered. "It's like all members of Team Luigi have suffered memory loss…but why?"

"I'm not suffering…" Tails murmured silently under his breath. Knuckles grabbed his own arm and rubbed it slightly.

"My memory_ is_ all whacked out! I mean, I remember teleporting with Tails, but the only thing after that and before I ended up in The Underwhere is-"

He removed his hand from his right arm, showing off the scar from where he had been sliced. Everyone gazed at it with wide eyes while Tails couldn't believe that this was how they were piecing everything together.

"I remember being cut and in a lot of pain…then this horrible sound…and then I was knocked out cold!" he recalled fretfully. "Am I really dead?"

_"No!"_ Tails nearly yelled, getting everyone to shudder and turn their gazes to him. When Tails realized he had randomly shouted that out, he tried to cover it up. "I mean, Jaydes said that all of us are still very much alive, and I doubt that there's any exceptions!"

"But…nothing else makes sense…" Sonic trailed, still staring at Knuckles' healed injury. Tails had his fists balled up and was trying to prevent another lash out.

"Well, none of us know what really happened to any members of Team Luigi, apparently, and I'm chalking Malon up to be just the same! I know nothing makes sense, but you have to trust me…you have no idea what happened to us…"

"What makes_ you_ so sure though?" Ganondorf asked, and all eyes stayed on Tails. Tails glanced at everyone and frowned.

"You want to know what_ I_ remember before I "woke up in Hades"?" he continued, narrowing his eyes. "I remember having to watch Knuckles be dragged away in pain, unconscious, and me frightened for my life. You want to know how I "think" I got my "Game Over"? I was punched in the face! And the punch wasn't even the worst part…it was _who_ punched me…"

The area got quiet after that, no one sure what to think after that until Luigi muttered, "Gee, who would've thought that Meta Knight's return would cause this…"

"I'm shocked as well," Meta Knight replied. "While Tails cools down a little, may I be informed as to why you are here in the first place?"

"We were looking for an apple to wake up Princess Peach," Eggman explained. "We can't get out of the Overthere Stair until we help her out."

"We left Kirby to guard her, on his insistence," Bowser said while rolling his eyes.

"Yeah, he'll be happy to see you!" Luigi exclaimed.

"We can only wake her with a taboo fruit, however…" Sonic trailed. Meta Knight jumped up in a flash, soared around the apple tree, then hacked off a single Black Apple with his sword.

"This apple I guarantee will do the trick. It tastes simply awful, and it should be enough to wake up anyone…"

"I still think it's the Red one," Knuckles said confidently.

"Guess we'll have to try them all!" Ganondorf said in an abnormally high-pitched voice, heading over to walk out the door. Meta Knight decided to go with the flow and follow everyone, considering he wanted to be a part of whatever was going on, and Knuckles started to fill him in with what he knew, with help from Mario and Eggman. Eventually everyone was on their way back to Peach (since they couldn't get any farther), except for Luigi and Sonic, who stayed behind to try and cheer Tails up.

"Hey pal, are you alright?" Sonic asked, bending down to Tails' level.

"No…" murmured the fox. "But I'll pull myself together before we head back to Peach. I don't wanna look all sad when I give back her watch…"

"But if something's really bugging you, then shouldn't you tell at least someone?" Luigi asked.

"Yeah, you can tell us anything!" Sonic added.

"I know…" Tails sighed again. "You guys are the best, and I wish I were more like you two…"

"but we like you because you're Tails," Luigi replied, rubbing his head.

"Nothing's ever going to change that opinion," Sonic stated. "Now, you don't have to right now, but whenever you're ready, just tell us why you seem so…hesitant to say anything."

"And why you act like you know more than your letting in on," threw in Luigi. "It's not like we'll get mad!"

"It's not that you'll get mad…" Tails trailed. "It's just…I dunno if you can handle it if I say…"

"Well once again, whenever you're ready, don't be afraid to speak up, all right?"

"Okay Sonic…"

"Good. Now let's go- remember, the faster we get out of here, the faster we can get rid of Luvbi!"

Tails smiled slightly as Sonic bolted out the door, eager to follow behind everyone else. Luigi stood at his side and glanced down at his friend.

"Okay Tails, please tell me what's up."

Tails quivered for a bit, then plopped himself in the ground and hung his head low. "Everything I've been through…it was torture…from when Knuckles and I ended up in Castle Bleck, to seeing you, Knuckles, Meta Knight, and probably Malon with a lost memory…it's frustrating…"

He stood back up, and Luigi patiently listened to what he had to say. But Tails just walked to the door with his head held high and opened it, motioning for Luigi to follow.

_"No one knows what I had to go through…"_

**Stair 4, Peach's Area-**

By the time the group returned back to Peach, Tails was feeling relatively better, and everyone else was either thrilled to see Meta Knight back in action, or just eager to wake Peach up so they could all get out of there. Upon their return, Kirby threw himself as the gang and looked pretty desperate.

"Oh please tell me you found some sort of fruit that'll work!" he begged. "You've gotta wake her up! You just gotta!"

"We've found plenty of fruit, and I'm sure that one of them will wake up Peach," Tippi assured.

"Well what are you waiting for? Feed her!"

"Which one should we try first…" pondered Eggman.

"Try the red one!" Knuckles offered, holding it out to Mario. Mario nodded, fed it to Peach, and waited to see what happened.

"I do hope this one's the taboo fruit..." Tippi murmured to herself. Everyone jumped in brief shock when Peach suddenly jolted upright, blinking her eyes open.

"Wh-Where am I?" she stuttered.

Kirby literally jumped for joy. "PEACH!"

"Princess Peach! Oh, thank goodness you woke up..." Tippi sighed with relief.

but before anyone else could explain a thing to her, she suddenly grew to enormous heights, making everyone scream and cower in fear.

"Eeeeek! What's happening? ! Make it stop!" Peach shrieked.

Once again, before anyone could act, Peach's growth spurt wore off and she was back to sleeping soundly under the tree. Everyone groaned.

"...She fell asleep again," Tippi said with emotion void in her voice. "I guess that was the wrong fruit too..."

"Maybe the yellow one?" Tails tried, giving that one to Mario. Once Peach ate the fruit, she woke up once again.

"Wh-Where am I?" she moaned once more. Everyone was prepared to celebrate once again, until-

"EEEEEK! What's happening? ! A MUSTACHE? !"

-Peach grew a mustache.

"GET SOME LIP WAX NOW!"

"…okay, I'm sorry, but that was kinda funny," Sonic snickering, failing at suppressing laughter while Peach's mustache disappeared and she fell back asleep.

"…maybe the Pink Apple?" Luigi asked meekly, giving it to his bro. Peach, however, did not wake up. She just stayed Peach…

Or should I say, turned into a peach.

"ACK! Instead saving her with fruit we've turned her into one!" Kirby cried. "And it doesn't help that she looks really, really, delicious!"

"Don't you dare eat Peach!" Luigi ordered.

"If Link were here, he'd say that Peach sure looks fruity now!"

"I-I'd have to say that was definitely NOT it…" moaned Tippi.

"I don't want a piece of produce for a wife!" wailed Bowser, just as she returned back to normal. Meta Knight pushed his way up to the front, rolling his eyes.

"I told you, it's the Black Apple," he huffed, feeding it to Peach. Everyone looked over the knight's shoulders, waiting to see how Peach would react.

"Please let this be the taboo fruit…" Tippi prayed.

"Ohhh…Unnngh…"

"She's stirring! She's stirring!" Kirby cheered.

"It looks as though she's waking up…"

"But IS she? !"

"G…gr…GROSS! ! !"

She stood up and shouted it so loud, Mario, Sonic, Kirby, Luigi, Tails, Meta Knight, Knuckles, Bowser, Ganondorf, and even Eggman went flying backwards.

"Yeah, that was my reaction too," Meta Knight muttered while fixing his mask.

Peach fell into the cloud face first, Tippi being the only one to stay in place.

"Are you…all right?" she asked slowly.

"Eww, what WAS that?" Peach hissed, a bit oblivious to what was going on thanks to the bitter taste in her mouth. "What in this world did you just make me eat? !"

Luigi threw up his hands excited as everyone slowly crawled back to the princess. "It worked! Yahoooooo! Princess Peach, you're awake!"

"Luigi? !" she gaped. "You're safe and sound!"

"GRAAAAAAAGH! Hey, concerned hubby over here, Princess Peach!" Bowser bellowed happily. Peach ignored him and looked around.

"Where in this world are we? And what was I doing here? I can't remember a thing…"

"Aw, not you too…" moaned Sonic.

"We are in The Overthere, Princess Peach…" Tippi explained. "Dimentio's attack sent you here…"

Before Peach could respond, Luvbi returned to the scene.

"So, thou wakest?" Everyone turn around, finding the "Nimbi with a Shayde personality" floating beyond the tree, looking irritated. "I am Luvbi. I am bound for The Overthere, and I taken yon travelers with me."

Peach walked up to Luvbi, clasped her hands, and smiled sweetly. "Is that so? Well, it's nice to meet you, Luvbi."

"No, Peach! Don't talk to her! She's a monster!"

"It's not nice to meet her! It's my number one regret, meeting her!"

"I shall head onward, so dawdleth not! Heareth me, princess of silly peaches?" Luvbi continued to Peach. Peach watched as she flew away, head resting his her palm.

"Oh my, I wonder if I said something rude…"

"It's not you, Peach, it's her," Knuckles said disdainfully.

"We're her babysitters until we get to heaven," said Ganondorf. "It's been real pleasant."

"Ugh, just don't worry about it…" Tippi sighed as she returned to Peach's side.

"Oh, I must have caused you all so much trouble…" Peach sighed. "I'm so sorry…but I'm so happy to see all of you again!"

"Oh Peach!" Kirby wailed, hugging her tightly. "I shouldn't have given you the first bite of that apple! Blame me!"

"Kirby, it was awfully sweet of you to give me the first bite, and you didn't know how bad it could be just as much as I didn't!" Peach assured, patting his head. "I'll try and do my best to make up for lost time!"

"And speaking of time…" Tails walked up to her and handed Peach her watch. "I fixed it for you, so now you can make long distance contact!"

"Oh, why thank you Tails!" Peach exclaimed, slipping it back onto her wrist. "And it's good to see you again as well!"

She glanced around again at the group and frowned. "Hey…where's Zelda, Amy, Link and Samus? Everyone else is here…"

"Malon's missing too," Luigi pointed out for her.

"We think they ended up in the Overthere," Sonic told her. "But hey, we're headed up there now, so maybe we'll run into them! It's just great to finally have a girl back on the team!"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, even guys can get annoyed by being surrounded by so many other males-"

"I think you should stop talking before you screw something up, seriously," interrupted Dashell.

"Sigh…I wonder if Meta Knight's around here too…" Kirby pondered as he returned his watch to his wrist. "I mean, he was sucked up in The Void and everything, and he might be lost forever, but…there's a thin hope that he could have possibly made it to The Overthere…"

"Kirby, I'm right here."

"No, Meta Knight, don't try to cheer me- METTIE!"

"Oh, not you too-" was all Meta Knight could get out before he was glomped by Kirby.

"How did he miss Meta Knight giving Peach the apple?" Tails asked Mario, who only shrugged in response.

"Are you alive, or didja get your game over from The Void? I'm sorry that I left you behind too- I'm such a selfish person!"

"Easy, Kirby, it's all okay. Just get off my head…"

Kirby obliged, then dove in for a hug. Meta Knight sweatdropped. "Sorry, but it's REALLY good to see you again! I thought I never would again…"

"Well, I guess I have to say it's good to see you too," Meta Knight replied. "I was just as worried about what happened to you as you were about me…"

"But in the end, you're both fine!" cheered Luigi.

"Ooh, since Link isn't here, can I give Meta Knight an intro?" Kirby asked.

"A what-?"

"Meta Knight has joined the team! He can carry people to higher areas, also occasionally teaming up with Tails to do so. When Team Luigi takes control, his cape transforms into wings that allow him to fly. His battle ability is being able to don brief invincibility for a short time."

"I like mine better," Knuckles added when he was finished.

"Do I even need to mention that I still didn't get one?" complained Peach.

"Ugh…can we please continue on now?" Ganondorf asked.

"Have patience, and it will set you free," Dottie told him.

"Bah! I don't need any of you poetic advice!"

"Well I still wanna get going!" Cudge cried. "I wanna go find Amy!"

"Link too, sss-BOOM!"

"And Samus," sighed Carrie.

"And Zelda too!" sang Piccolo.

"All right, all right, we're going already!" Sonic announced. "Woo hoo!"

Mario grinned and started to lead to way.

**Stair 5, Cloud 54-**

Back on the Cloud that Luigi, Tails, and Knuckles spoke of, Peach stood on a high up brown block and looked over the edge- sure enough, there was a cloud that only she would be able to get everyone over to. Placing her parasol over her shoulder, she took control and glided over the large gap in the sky. Peach alighted on Cloud 55, taking out a Squog upon landing and jumping onto several Jump-Over Clouds.

"Whee! This is kinda fun!" she cheered, bouncing higher and higher.

She landed on Cloud 60, removed control, then everyone thanked her several times for helping them get out of the cloudy stair nightmare. She just said she was happy to help, especially after how they helped her, while Mario entered into Stair 6.

**Stair 6-**

"61 Clouds, and still no sign of The Overthere…" sighed Ganondorf.

"We've got to be almost there at this rate…" Luigi trailed.

Meanwhile, Mario noticed a Skellobit- one of the creatures that Luigi, Tails, and Knuckles battled in the trapped area. Meta Knight saw it as well and sliced it in half with his sword.

"What was that?"

"We think is came from The Underwhere- one of the minions of the monster that escaped from there," Tails said. "It's pretty obvious that they didn't originate from The Overthere…"

"A monster? What monster?" Peach, Kirby, and Meta Knight asked.

"A monster escaped the Underwhere- a beast that even Queen Jaydes fears…" Sonic trailed.

"Some D-Men locked up me and Team BEG because they thought that one of us was the monster," added Knuckles.

"But after seeing these skeleton things running around…" Luigi gulped. "…we fear that the monster is wreaking havoc up there as we speak!"

"But everyone else is up there…" trailed Kirby.

"Which means we need to get to The Overthere as soon as we can!" Peach exclaimed. "No more time for talking- we need to go!"

Mario agreed on the spot and continued on, the rest of the group trotting along behind him. He took a platform that ascended upwards, Luigi taking control afterwards and reaching an even higher area. They jumped until they hit Cloud 67, then Meta Knight flew up to Cloud 68, killed a Cursya and luckily didn't become cursed, and located a Shroom Shake.

"Since when do Shrooms come in a shake?" he wondered, hurrying to follow after the rest of his team.

"There had better not be one hundred clouds we have to climb up…" groaned Knuckles.

Luigi, Tails, Meta Knight, and Knuckles continued the ascent, knowing this was the fastest way to The Overthere. On Cloud 69, Knuckles defeated two Skellobits and claimed a Thunder Rage.

"Sweet!"

He caught up with his friends on Stair 70 and reached the seventh stair.

**Stair 7-**

"There's only Seven Stairs in Heaven, right?"

"I think you're thinking Seven Minutes in Heaven."

"Please, don't start in on that…"

Luigi defeated a Skellobomber (a flying Skellobit) and a Skellobait (a green armless Skellobit that a Skellobomber carries and has freezing breath). A Jump-Over Cloud took the group to Cloud 72, and another to Cloud 73. On Cloud 74, Knuckles jumped onto a platform taking them to the right and nearly missed, Luigi and Meta Knight grabbing his hands at the last moment and pulling him up.

"I nearly died!" Knuckles yelped, once they reached the other side. Tails spotted a chest sitting on the cloud and hurried over to open it.

"A Life Shroom!" he yelped, staring at it with awe.

"Ooh, that's a pretty powerful Shroom…" Luigi trailed.

"Let's be thankful Link isn't here to eat THAT one," Meta Knight said seriously, but the other three lightly snickered anyway.

"Are we anywhere near the top yet?" groaned Knuckles. "I'll hurt Bowser if the clouds go over 9000."

"We really need to stop with that…"

_"UGH! Get away from me!"_

"Well sorry for saying-"

"Dude, do I sound like a girl?"

"A girl?" Luigi asked, glancing up at the next cloud. He crouched down and sprung up, jumping onto Cloud 75 with an odd structure built on top of it.

And in that structure was Malon fighting off Skellobits.

"Malon!" Luigi shrieked, running over to help instantly. Tails just blinked.

"Can anyone else not believe how easily we seem to find each other?"

Meta Knight shrugged and followed after Luigi. "Gotta be fate or something."

Luigi was in such a shock that his control wore off, and everyone else arrived at Cloud 75 as well. Malon was firing arrows furiously at reddish-purple Spiky Skellobits and Boot Bashing the regular ones. Luigi Super Jumped into a flying one before it threw its head at Malon. Malon heard his cry before he sprang and turned around, only to see Tails, Meta Knight, and Knuckles charge into the fray as well. With Tails' tools, Meta Knight's sword, and Knuckles' fists, the monsters were defeated.

Luigi, Tails, Meta Knight, and Knuckles all landed back on the ground before running toward Malon cheering her name.

"Luigi! Tails! Everyone!" Malon cried back, running into Luigi's arms while the others couldn't do anything but hug her as well- though Knuckles and Meta Knight backed off after a few brief seconds.

"Luigi! You're…you're _all_ here!" she exclaimed, being spun around by Luigi before he placed her back on the ground.

"We were worrying about you!" Tails replied, Malon turning around and hugging him as well.

"I can't believe you're here!" Malon gasped. "I just remember Luigi protecting me…and then _nothing_ after that! I had no idea what happened to him, or Meta Knight, and I didn't even know where you and Knuckles were!"

"How I've missed your cheerfulness, I have to admit…" Meta Knight trailed. Malon let go of Tails and grinned at Meta Knight.

"And I've missed how bold you are- appearing out of nowhere like you do and all…"

"Just how I am."

"Great, now you're back to make fun of me," grunted Knuckles, arms folded and glaring at the ground. Malon smirked and pulled one of his dreads.

"Aw, admit it! You've missed me too, haven't you, you stubborn echidna!"

"Ow! Ow! Fine! I may have microscopically missed you!"

Malon let go of his spine and folded her arms. "Well, I suppose I've missed you too, I guess…"

The two exchanged a glare before breaking out into laughter, Luigi, Tails, and even Meta Knight joining in too. The rest of the gang, who had watched everything, just approached them slowly.

"Well I'll be…" Sonic remarked.

"What do you know? Looks like Malon was closer than we thought!" exclaimed Peach.

Malon blinked and waved at them. "Hi, everyone! I wasn't expecting all of you to appear, that's for sure…"

"Well, we have our ways of meeting up with each other…" Bowser shrugged.

"We all ended up here because we believe that Count Bleck's cronies sent us to the Underwhere and The Overthere," Luigi started to explain. "And now that we've found you, all that's left to find is Link, Zelda, Amy, Samus, and the Pure Heart!"

"Oh, I know that you're headed for The Overthere- that's where I just came from!" Malon exclaimed. "And there's something important I have to tell you guys…"

"Well what is it? Don't keep us in the dark!"

"Okay…I assume you've heard of the monster that escaped right?"

"Yes," Luigi strained to say. "We'd like to be not reminded, if you please."

"Well, too bad, it's serious. That monster unleashed troops after troops of creatures in The Overthere, and it certainly isn't pretty. They've captured innocent Nimbis, wrecked things, and I know for a fact that Samus, Amy, and Zelda got all caught up in the fray trying to fight back…and seeing Zelda made me remember that I don't know where Link whisked himself off to…"

"Link is totally fine!" Sonic assured, holding his hand out. "Literally right after he left the wedding he found Mario, and he's been helping unite all of us back together…until we all got "Game Overs"…"

Malon perked up. "So…you're saying he's somewhere in The Overthere too? !"

"That's what we'd like to think."

"Oh, you don't know how much of a relief it is to hear that-"

"Eh, by the way, Malon…" Peach interrupted, rubbing the back of her head. "if you saw Zelda, and Samus and Amy as well, how come you're here?"

Malon put on a grumpy look. "I was pushed off the side of The Overthere by those stupid creatures…I guess you could say I fell out of the sky."

"Again? !" Luigi yelped. "We need to stop meeting like this…"

"You're okay, aren't you?" Tails asked. Malon nodded.

"Of course! I'm a lot more concerned about what's going on at The Overthere…but I dunno how to get back!"

"Well, I'm sure you'll find a way if you stick with us since we're all headed in the same direction," Luigi promised with a smile.

"Ooh, look at this obvious cloud over here that we were too distracted by Malon to notice!" Kirby cried, running over to said cloud. Everyone traded odd looks before following Kirby to the cloud.

"Hi! I'm Cyrrus!" it suddenly cried, making a few people jump. "I'm a newborn cloud! Pleased to meetcha!"

"It's a baby cloud?" Meta Knight questioned.

"That doesn't even make any sense!" cried Eggman.

"Does anything make sense anymore?" Ganondorf retorted.

"No, not really, but-"

"I've got big dreams! Big ones! I wanna be the biggest cloud I can be! I heard about this one guy who could grow big just by eating a mushroom!"

Mario: Doesn't sound familiar at all.

"That would be SO COOL! If you find a big-making thing like that, give it to me!"

"Well, there's this apple that made Peach big when we fed it to her," Knuckles stated, holding it out. Peach put her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow.

"When did THIS happen-"

Knuckles fed the Red Apple to Cyrrus, and everyone waited to see what would happen next.

Sure enough, he turned into a HUGE cloud.

"So…plumber eats Mushroom, they grow big. Cloud eats apple, they grow big?" Bowser pondered.

"It doesn't even compute!" cried Tails. "Why? WHY did things stop making sense? !"

"Now I'm a big cloud!" cheered Cyrrus. "From now on, just call me "Super Cyrrus"! No more little bitty cloud for me! And I'm real bouncy, so hop on top!"

"Bouncy enough to take us to The Overthere, hopefully?" Malon asked, climbing up.

The very moment anyone set foot on that cloud, they were propelled upwards WAY higher than they necessarily needed to be, going so high that there weren't even any clouds anymore.

When everyone finally came back down, they got a face full of cloud.

"Good thing it was a soft landing…" groaned Peach, standing up and dusting herself off.

"At least we're finally at the end of Stair 7..." Knuckles grumbled.

Mario noticed a door not too far off, realizing that Knuckles was right. Being quick to jump back to his feet, Mario trotted over to the door and entered through it.

**The Edge of The Overthere-**

"'Here Endeth Overthere Stair. The Overthere is Over There.' Best nine words I've ever read."

Peach happily took control and glided over the gap, reaching the area that was apparently The Overthere. She removed control, and several members of the group were celebrating that they were finally there.

"Yea, yea, thou art happy I will be out of thine hair…" Luvbi muttered, returning to the scene. "But I find it much rude that you maketh a young girl like me wait for thee!"

"Who's that?" Malon asked.

"A brat." "A jerk." "A weasel." "An insulting scumbag!" "A Shayde in a Nimbi disguise!"

"Hmph! Blunt much?" Luvbi scoffed. She turned to Mario. "Mario, man of many a hair…hiteth the Block, so we canst finally arrive in The Overthere…and you'll be rideth of me and be verily happy!"

Luvbi continued to mutter angrily to herself, everyone watching her as she did so. Mario thought over Luvbi's actions- yea, she was mostly unpleasant, but why did she seem so disappointed that their job was almost finished? It was perplexing, and with the trails Mario was about to face up ahead, it was only bound to get worse.

. . .

White clouds as far as the eye could see…Mario and Co. had climbed through clouds and finally reached The Overthere.

"Odd. No party springeth forth to welcometh us," wondered Luvbi aloud.

"Probably because you arrived."

"It mattereth not. Father's shrine is just ahead, so we canst walk there with ease."

But they would not arrive at the shrine as easily as Luvbi predicted. Why not? Because something unexpected and dramatic was about to happen…


	48. The War Between Heaven and Hades

Super Paper Mario X

Chapter 48: The War Between Heaven and Hades

**Overthere Sector 1-**

"Soon we shall meet with my father, Grambi. Be thou on thy best behavior," Luvbi said bitter sweetly.

"So…Grambi is your father?"

"Really Tippi? How many times have we said that already?"

"Thou art correct. Grambi is my father and Jaydes is my mother."

"As has been stated several times before."

"Pray, listen…" Luvbi trailed, her voice suddenly becoming soft compared to the harsh stubbornness it was usually coated with. "I fell ill once, and my father never left my bedside…they hath an overprotective side, verily, and I grow annoyed of it at times. But mayhap it is mine own fault for being so cute. They cannot help it!"

"Uh, yes, surely…" Tippi trailed while sweat dropping. "In any case, perhaps we'd better go meet that Grambi."

"Good luck with that…" Malon trailed. "Like I said, The Overthere is slowly being turned to ruin, and I doubt that you'll be able to reach Grambi in the state that its in."

"And what dost maketh you say such things?" Luvbi demanded to know.

"I think it'd be better if you saw for yourself."

"Hmph. I'd say thine boots art repulsive to the eye, but speaking such a truth at this moment wouldst not be in mine best interest…"

"…did she just say my boots were ugly?"

"I believe that's the correct tranlation. Yea, verily."

Malon had to hold her mouth shut while she fumed, leading the way forward with Mario naturally at the front as well. They had a Grambi to see and friends to find.

Almost instantly up ahead, they ran into a Skellobit, which Bowser engulfed in flames and defeated easily. They then jumped onto a levitating cloud, taking them higher up to where more creatures from the underworld lurked.

"Why art yon things roaming around in my father's kingdom?" Luvbi huffed as they were quickly dispatched. "Thy should not be here!"

"Finally, you notice…" Knuckles grumbled, punching one's head clean off.

Luvbi pondered this for awhile while everyone else jumped down to a lower area. Luigi hit a high up ? Block, only to cause a Fast Flower to pop out.

"Ooh! Pretty!" Malon exclaimed, grabbing it instantly.

"NO!DON'T!" yelled Peach, but it was too late.

"Wheeeeeee!" cheered Sonic, running around like a mad maniac. "Ilovegoingthisfast!"

"Herewegoagain..."

Mario quickly leaped up the blocks that were stacked in a stair-like fashion, only to locate a locked door at the top. Meanwhile, when everyone realized there wasn't that must explore, they entered through an unlocked door, which was the only other option.

**Overthere Sector 2-**

"HEEEEELP!" they were instantly greeted by as the brief speeding wore off.

A Nimbi was being harassed by two Skellobits, desperately trying to get away.

"Hwahwahwahwahwahwahwahwa! Awww, what's da matter?" one cackled.

"C'mon! Fight back, ya big wimp, ya!"

Mario and the gang approached the scene, the two Skellobits sensing their presence and glaring in their direction.

"Leave that guy alone!" Kirby demanded, throwing his Final Cutter. "Cutter Boomerang!"

The weapon sliced into the two Skellobits, making them squawk out with pain once it returned to Kirby's hand.

"What's YOUR beef, hah?"

The second one saw Luvbi looking worried from behind Meta Knight and snickered. "Oh, friend of the Nimbis, are ya? Then ya must be an enemy of US! Taste spear!"

"Idiots," scoffed Malon, putting her flute to her mouth and beginning to play. It was a soft song of separation, which made the two Skellobits suddenly lift up into the air and become tossed right off of the clouds, thanks to the flute's magic. Peach and Sonic, meanwhile, ran over to the Nimbi to see if he was okay.

"Th-Thou hast my gratitude…I know not who thou art, but thou didst save me…"

"Pray, speak!" barked Luvbi. "What hast happened hither?"

"A pox, verily…yon fell beats hath been flooding into The Overthere of late. They seek the Pure Heart…They need it, for they hath some plan most foul!"

Luvbi's eyes changed from black to white with the shock. "Yon beasts seek the Pure Heart! Foulness! Only Father knowest the Pure Heart's resting place…Father is in danger!"

"Now you're getting it," Malon said with a shrug. "With the unleashed beasts running around, I thought it was obvious!"

"I yearn to hide, verily…" the Nimbi continued. "But if thou seekest Grambi, thou shalt need this key."

He handed Mario the key to the locked door he had spotted earlier, and Mario thanked him for it.

"I cannot help more, but Prithee, protect Grambi! Um…farewell."

He vanished off toward the right, but instead of heading back to Sector 1, Mario continued to lead the group through the rest of Sector 2. It involved cloud jumping, pillar leaping, and foe beating. Eggman took out the majority of the Skellobits with his laser gun, with occasional help from Peach, Meta Knight, and Sonic. At the other end was a cloud that only Team Luigi could get onto, and so the five of them headed on up.

"Hopefully there's something worth getting at the top!" Knuckles exclaimed as Luigi jumped, Tails and Meta Knight flew, and Malon flipped up into the clouds.

"Well, there's something up here," Meta Knight discovered, seeing one of the clouds have blue-hued pillars sticking up out of it. Luigi tilted his head, curious, then climbed up the clouds until he found a structure…that held a large frozen Nimbu encased in ice.

"Oh, goodness!" cried Malon, quickly taking out her flute and playing a hot song. The ice spontaneously started to heat up and began to melt, freeing the blue-clothed Nimbi with a mustache.

"Oh, thank thee! It is as though thou hast brought me back to life!" he cried. He then blinked and looked around confusedly. "Hold a moment…What an I doing hither? ! WHO AM I? ! WHERE AM I? ! Do I have…amnesia? ! Ah, what to do! Oh, it is futile…I have no idea who I am. None at all!"

"More cases of memory loss?" Knuckles questioned. "What a cheap gimmick."

"Gimmick? Is that what you think losing memories is?" Malon retorted sharply.

"But it's been so abundant lately!"

"Either way," Luigi interrupted. "Something tells me we shouldn't forget that he's here…"

"Like how he forgot who he is?"

"Knuckles!"

**Overthere Sector 1-**

It was a brief visit, considering Mario only wanted to return to place the key in the locked door and enter the new area. His brother had informed him of the odd blue Nimbi, and Mario promised that he would remember the position of him as well. But at the moment, they needed to find a way to reach Grambi…and quickly…

**Overthere Sector 3-**

In Sector 3, the group instantly located yet another locked door, and Mario really wasn't looking forward to figured out how they would obtain THAT key. They headed onwards, bypassing another structure similar to previous ones, but somewhat different.

"That art an elevator," Luvbi explained, as if it was obvious. "We canst reacheth higher parts of The Overthere by taking it! Alas, no Nimbi art hither to operate it…"

Beyond the elevator was a strench of clouds that seemingly had a dead end, but Peach proved this wrong by gliding over a gap and landed on a cloud with a frozen Nimbi and a girl Nimbi standing next to him, looking awfully sad.

"What happened here?" Peach wanted to know, removing control so the rest of the group could see the conundrum as well. The girl Nimbi just sniffled.

"Oh woe is me…my darling man hath been frozen by brute monsters! I need him so…I am Fallbi, a helpless kitten compared to them! Oh, what shall I do?"

"Frozen?" Kirby asked, poking at the ice enclosure. "That's odd…"

"Skellobaits can apparently freeze things," Luigi recalled.

"But still…something about the whole freezing thing just isn't right…" Tippi trailed.

"A good majority of The Overthere is frozen, now that you mention it…" Malon pondered. "The thing is, I doubt wimpy Skellobaits could've done so much by themselves…"

"So…you're saying something a lot, well, bigger is behind this?" Eggman asked.

"The monster is an ice demon? !"

"Whoa, don't jump to conclusions, sheesh," Malon scoffed to Kirby. "It's just a theory. I don't even have the sightest clue as to what the monster even looks like…"

"Thou! Art thou a kitten too, or art thou a grand lion?" Fallbi asked.

"I ain't no kitten!" Bowser huffed, aiming his flames at the Nimbi ice pop. "Might as well melt the flying thing…"

The Nimbi within stood up, looking discombobulated.

"Ugh…"

"Darling dear!" Fallbi cheered, scooting closer to her man.

"Fair Fallbi!"

"Sniff…thank heavens…Yon person helped thee…"

"Thou hast my thanks, yea. Pray, allow me to do something for thee in return!"

"Yea, verily, darling dear! Perhaps if thou wouldst moveth the thou-knowest-what?"

"Yea! The thou-knowest-what! Fair Fallbi, thou art as clever as thou art adorable."

Fallbi blushed. "Oh darling dear…'tis true, but how thou goest on!"

As they hurried off, Luvbi just stared at them, questioning, "The thou-knowest-what?"

They followed the lovesick duo…all the way back to the elevator.

"C'mon, who saw that coming?"

Mario: *raises hand*

They all climbed up onto it and spoke with the Nimbi.

"Sorry to maketh thee wait! Behold the Overvator! It transporteth. Nimbis upward. I owe then for thine help. I operate yon lift. Prithee, let me giveth thee a ride."

"Sure." "Why not?" "We've got nothing to lose."

"Gooooing up!"

The Overvator started glowing in rainbow colors as it ascended, taking the crew to a higher area, as expected. The Nimbi thanked them for using the Overvator and sent them on their way. However, they came to a slightly unpleasant sight…

"More frozen Nimbis? !" Tails cried as Ganondorf conjured up a fire wall and melted all frozen Nimbis in its path. One of the Nimbis even murmured, "Brr…monsters most foul…how dare they freeze me…I shall get them!"

"Brr…seeing all these iced up Nimbis make ME cold!" cried Kirby, shivering as he entered the door into Sector 4.

**Overthere Sector 4-**

"And, once again, even more frozen angels."

Bowser and Ganondorf melted each and every Nimbi, all lined up down the path of a large structure. They all thanked the two villains, until they saved a larger Nimbi donning white clothing…and presumably Link.

"What the- he was frozen too?" Sonic gaped, kicking away at the ice that Link was trapped in.

"He must've gotten here after I fell…" Malon deduced, playing her hot song and freeing the swordsman. Link let out a yelp when his skin suddenly started to warm up, followed by shivering uncontrollably.

"Oooh, good goddesses! Being frozen is not fun! At all! Brr…"

"Link!" nearly everyone cheered, Malon and Kirby tackling him in a hug while Mario, Peach, and Sonic gave him pats on the back. Limk blinked in surprised.

"Whoa, you're actually happy to have my presence?"

"Of course! Why wouldn't we be?" Malon asked.

"Gee, it wouldn't have anything to do with the constant insults directed at me."

"We only mess with you Link," Peach giggled. "Don't take it so seriously!"

"I hope Link doesn't try to kill me again…" Luigi whispered to Tails, who only shrugged in response.

"Yon man looketh a bit…like rubbish," Luvbi commented. "But whom art I to complaineth?"

"Never stopped you before," scoffed Sonic.

Link finally warmed up and stood up straight, face looking serious. "I take it you guys are looking for Grambi?"

"Yeah! He's got the Pure Heart thing that we need," Knuckles retorted.

"We're looking for Samus, Amy, and Zelda now too," Meta Knight added. Link frowned.

"Yeah, so am I." He pointed to the right with his sword, where a huge gap separated them from another whole section of The Overthere. "Grambi, Zelda, everyone…they're all over there. But we can't get to the other side! Grambi's shrine is over there, and it's currently under heavy attack! Samus, Amy, and Zelda managed to get over there before the bridge was taken down…"

"Bridge? What bridge?" Eggman asked. Link then pointed to the white-robed Nimbi off the the side.

"Ask Whibbi! He's part of the resistance force, and he knows more about this whole thing than I do, obviously."

Mario turned to Whibbi, who was still slightly recovering from being frozen, and tapped his shoulder.

"Whoa! Thank thee for thine help! My given name is Whibbi! I owe thee for that one! Thou art super!"

Mario: ^^

Luvbi, however, pushed her way through the crowd of heroes up to Whibbi, and gave him a stern look. "Whibbi! Speakest of my father! How doth he fair?"

Whibbi looked ashamed. "I am sorry, Luvbi…I could not stop yon beasts from entering Grambi's shrine. And the fiends wrecked the bridge once they crossed it…help cannot reacheth him."

"Man, all I hear is CRYING! Show some inititive! Can't we rebuild the bridge?" Bowser boomed.

"Hmm…mayhap," Whibbi said thoughtfully. "To rebuilt it, thou must find Rebbi, Blubi, and Yebbi, and get their three orbs. Once thou hast them all, we can rebuild the bridge. Taketh this, and findeth the others…I beg of thee…Thou must help…"

He handed Mario another key, and luckily Mario recalled where to use it at.

"Count me in too! Now that I'm back with you guys, I don't wanna be alone!" Link cried. "Wandering around heaven while a war is going on all alone is not a good thing!"

"I can't believe you're here though!" Malon exclaimed, still clinging to Link. "Do you know how worried I was after you disappeared on a whim? It scared me like crazy!"

"Trust me Malon, by now I know that was by far the wrong thing to do," Link assured, giving a sideways glance to the sheepishly grinning Mario, Sonic, Kirby, and Peach. "But I'm here now, and you're here now, and if we get the last Pure Heart, everything'll be fine!"

"I know…it's just great to see you're okay and not lost in some random dimension."

"Eh, I wouldn't quite say that…"

"Ooh! Ooh! Link!" Kirby cried. "You have to give Malon an intro! I gave Meta Knight his!"

"I gave one to Knuckles," Sonic said proudly.

Mario: I gave Luigi's and Tails'!

"Aw, you couldn't have waited for me?"

"What? We had to improvise!"

Link rolled his eyes, then struck his introduction pose while Malon watched with a confused look. "Malon has joined the team! She can use her flute's magic to alter reality! When Team Luigi takes control, she uses her secret acrobatic skills to jump high, but nowhere near as high as Luigi. Her battle ability is being able to double her attack in dire situations."

"And Malon is the last person that needed an intro, so now we have no more need for them," Ganondorf stated.

"I can't believe I missed out on four!" Link complained.

"I can't believe I _still_-"

"Don't go there, Peach."

"Hooray for Link's return, sss-BAM!" cheered Boomer, returning to Link's side.

"Anyway," Luigi interrupted. "Now that Link's back and all and we have another objective, I say that we should probably get going."

Mario: Oh yeah!

**Overthere Sector 3-**

Mario returned to the locked door, stuck the key in, and entered Sector Five, ready to find Rebbi, Blubi, and Yebbi.

**Overthere Sector 5-**

"Oh great, there's Skellobits in this area…" groaned Ganondorf as everyone watched the creatures from Hades running around like maniacs.

"First off, should we go to the right, or go up?" Peach asked, motioning to both path options.

"Usually I'd say right, but I think up might be a good idea," Link decided as Team Luigi wiped out several Skellobits and Skellobaits on the way up. Once they reached the top cloud, which didn't take very long at all, they removed control and entered the next Sector.

**Overthere Sector 6-**

"It's nothing but a dead end," Meta Knight concluded after they walked past several pillars and claimed a regular Shroom. Kirby shook his head.

"Nuh-uh! When in doubt, flip about!"

Mario, Link, Sonic, and Kirby threw up their arms and ventured into the third dimension. Off in the distance was another cloud, and with further exploration and a bit of backtracking they found a cloudy path that lead over there.

"And, once again, even more Skellobits…" sighed Sonic, once they returned to 2D and removed control. Luigi spotted a ? block off to the side and gave it a bonk.

A Mega Star popped out.

"Ooh! Sweet!" Tails cried, touching it before anyone could give him a warning. Suddenly, Luigi, Malon, Tails, Meta Knight, and Knuckles grew ten times their size in a destructive 8-bit fashion.

"Well, this is a new one," Malon remarked, staring at her new look.

"Quick! Go forward!" shouted Ganondorf.

"Destroy everything in your path!" cried Bowser.

"You're literally invincible!" Peach added.

"Really? !" Knuckles exclaimed, suddenly bolting forward and wiping out blocks and monsters with a simple touch. "All right!"

"Awesome!" Tails and Malon cried, tearing through everything as well.

"Hmph, I think we should've gotten it," grunted Eggman.

"No, we should've!" Link retorted.

Anyway, Team Luigi's rampage eventually wore off, and Team Mario was needed to flip into 3D to reach a building once again off in the distance. When they made it over there and removed control, Peach opened up her parasol and sighed.

"It's a bit depressing…" she admitted, looking a bit downcast. "I'm the only one from my team that's here…I sure hope Amy and Zelda are all right…"

"I beet they're fine, Peach," Tippi replied. "If anything, they're probably helping to protect Grambi right now by fighting back!"

"But how's Amy going to fight?" Sonic asked, a bit worried. "Her hammer broke, remember, and she doesn't have Cudge with her!"

"And we can't be too confident about Zelda either…" Link trailed nervously.

"But we know for sure Samus is probably blasting everything to bits at this moment," Eggman stated.

Mario: Yup!

"Well, anyway," Peach continued, walking forward. "The only way we can find them is by getting the three orbs!"

"And apparently we've reached a bathroom…" Knuckles realized, starting at the door they had ended up next to.

"Is it occupied again?" groaned Link.

"Why do they have a bathroom in heaven?"

"Beats me."

Mario knocked on the door, and everyone jumped when a voice on the other side called out to them.

"Are the fell beasts gone? So it is safe for me to come out hither? By the way, who art thou?"

Mario was about to reply with his name, but Bowser shoved him out of the way and roared, "A monster! Grah ha ha ha ha!"

"Bowser!" "Do you want to guy in the there to be scarred for life?" "The nerve of some people…"

"A monster? ! Thou LIEST! No monster wouldst admit to being a monster! Huh? Hold a moment…that meaneth…Thou art NOT a monster? !"

Bowser folded his arms, looking proud of himself. "Good ol' reverse psychology!"

The Nimbi came out of the bathroom, this one wearing a lot of yellow.

"Hello to thee! I am Yebbi! Thou came to rescue me?"

Luvbi replied to him in a heartbeat. "We must rebuild yon bridge to reach Grambi! Thou must givest us the yellow orb! If thou dost not, we shall tell all how long thou spend hiding in hither!"

"L-Luvbi? ! Oh Prithee, thou must not tell! I shall do all thou askest!"

Yebbi instantly handed over the Yellow Orb to Mario so abruptly, it nearly knocked him over!

"I should not hath hidden like a base coward. I goeth to help the others now…be thou careful!"

"And we goeth to find another orb," Link said as Yebbi flew away.

**Overthere Sector 5-**

Back in Sector 5, the last place to explore was to the right of the door from Sector 3. There was Overvator, just like the one the Nimbi had operated, but this one, instead of an operator, had a red switch. After everyone had piled onto it, Mario hit the switch, and the Overvator brought them to the other side of the Sector.

"Hey, a door!" Knuckles instantly pointed out, going over to open it. Sonic reached over and grabbed his wrist.

"No, don't just go charging onward through door, Knuckles. There might be something we're missing!"

"Ha, look who's talking!" scoffed Kirby, Sonic giving him a look.

"I think we should enter through here anyway," Tails decided. "We might find Rebbi, Blubi, or something else!"

"Okay…" Sonic trailed as Mario headed on through the door. "But I get a bad feeling…"

**Overthere Sector 8-**

"Sector 8? ! What happened to 7? !"

As soon as they had entered, and as soon as Luigi had shrieked that, Meta Knight had unintentionally obtained a Slow Flower, making everyone groan.

"Weeeeeell I diiiidn't knoooooooow!" Meta Knight protested in slow motion.

Mario continued forward slowly, pulling off a matrix move as he dodged a boomerang thrown by a Boomerang Bro. Malon knocked it out with arrow while Eggman aimed his laser at two brick blocks above Mario's head. The way was clear for moving forward.

"I haaaate moooving sloooow…" Sonic complained, despite the fact he was walking around at a normal pace compared to everyone else.

Tails and Link jumped onto the next platform where another Boomerang Bro. awaited them. Tails slowly threw his wrench at it while Link sluggishly finished it off with his sword. At last, they reached the end, only to locate a fallen Nimbi that wouldn't get up!

"Nimbi that sleepeth! Waketh up!" Luvbi ordered as Mario nudge him with his shoe. "Get upeth, NOW!"

"He's faking it…" Tippi sweatdropped.

"I knowest that! That is why he mustest get off the cloud, yea."

"Well, he's not budging, and we've reached the end…" sighed Luigi.

"Back to the previous Sector?"

"This was a total rip-off!"

**Overthere Sector 5-**

This time, Mario flipped into 3D, where he found a door on the other side of the odd structure they were standing in. He also located three Skellobits, which Kirby and Sonic managed to slay with a combo hammer and homing attack technique. Jumping over the back part of the area, Mario reached the hidden door, and entered on through.

**Overthere Sector 7-**

"Okay, I think this is MUCH better!"

No one was really sure how to respond to Luigi, and instead watched as Peach glided over a gap that was in their way- after Luigi tried to jump across, fell, and located an Ultra Shroom Shake!

"Whoa, who would've thought? I LOVE Shroom Shakes!" Luigi cheered.

"Ooh…I wonder if an Ultra Shroom Shake tastes just as bad as the others…" Link moaned.

"I still can't believe you have a distaste for something Shroom related!" exclaimed Sonic.

Meanwhile, Peach reached the other side and removed control, and the very moment the rest of the group appeared beside her, a distraught voice rang out.

"TAKETH THAT!"

"What's going on?" Malon cried, trying to see over everyone.

A Skellobit was suddenly thrown over in front of them, giving them all a pained look before disappearing into dust. Another look revealed a red-wearing Nimbi fighting against more of the Skellobits. The Nimbi was looking pretty exhausted, however.

"They come without pause…" he wheezed. "Hmm…against such as assault, I cannot hope to last…"

"Dude, are you going to be all right?" Sonic asked as the group approached. The Nimbi looked up and felt a wave of relief wash over him.

"Huh? Reinforcements? At last! My strength hath reached its end…Prithee…Thou must finish them!"

"We've got it!" shouted Bowser, Eggman, and Ganondorf, charging through with their brute strength (well, not Eggman, at least).

Bowser punched on through, then finished it off by barbequing it. Ganondorf kicked another relentlessly, doing it in rather quickly. Eggman took care of the last one with a few shots of his laser gun, and when they were all finished, they took a bow and everyone else applauded.

"The foul beats are no more…" trailed the Nimbi. "I am Rebbi! Thou hast saved me! I owe thee thanks!"

"Rebbi! Grambi is in trouble! Hast thou the red orb? !" Luvbi demanded.

"Wow, and I thought Knuckles was rudely blunt," stated Link. Knuckles twitched slightly.

"What is that supposed to mean? !"

"Luvbi…" Rebbi continued. "The three orbs are not things to be given away lightly! And yet…these are dire times, are they not? And I owe thee a big debt. Here, I give it to thee!"

Rebbi handed Mario the Red Orb, Luvbi looking smug off to the side.

"I will go thither and check on the others. If thou survivest, let us meet again!"

"Psh, _if_ we survive," scoffed Bowser as Rebbi flew away.

"We must away as well!" Luvbi exclaimed.

"Well now that we have Rebbi and Yebbi's orbs, where the heck do we go to find Blubi?" Knuckles wanted to know.

"Eh…remember the Nimbi dressed in blue that had amnesia?" Luigi asked, scratching the back of his head.

**Overthere Sector 2-**

"I knew we'd come back for him," Luigi stated, once they had returned back to the blue Nimbi he and his team had located earlier. When Luigi talked to him, however, it seemed he was still a little lost…

"WHERE AM I? ! WHEN IS IT? !"

"Oh great," groaned Meta Knight, shaking his head. But, as if by a miracle, the Nimbi suddenly snapped out of his forgetfulness.

"Hold a moment…I remember…I am…I am Blubi!"

"Finally thou snappest out of it, eh, Dumbi?" Luvbi scoffed, floating over to him. "We hasten to yonder shrine to help Grambi, so givest thy blue orb."

"What! ? Oh, indeed, I see…Fell beasts have attacked from The Underwhere…and Grambi is in danger? If thou speakest truth, then here, takest it!"

He gave Luigi the Blue Orb, and now the group had all three that were needed to reach Grambi and the remaining missing members of the overall group.

"I cannot linger hither! I must go see what is happening. Farewell, Luvbi!"

He flew away, Luvbi watching him leave and rolling her eyes.

"We should take our leave as well so we can resuurect the bridge…" Malon trailed.

Luigi nodded. "Oh yeah!"

**Overthere Sector 4-**

"Oh, thou hast them?" Whibbi asked upon seeing the heroes' return. "Then let us hasten and rebuilt the bridge! Climbest onto the pedestal hither and placest the three orbs! Dost it now!"

"Sheesh, okay, okay…"

Mario and Luigi jumped into the pedestal, Mario placing the Red and Yellow orbs while Luigi placed the Blue one. The pedestal started to shake as the bridge rebuilt itself, resembling a rainbow that flashed all of its colors.

"Grambi is in danger grave…but we are all so weak…" sighed Whibbi. "We must ask you…savest him for us!"

"We'll…do our best, I guess," Tails replied as they took off over the bridge.

"We must hasten!" Luvbi cried, "My poor father!"

"The Nimbis!" exclaimed Luigi.

"The Overthere!" wailed Kirby.

"Samus, Amy, and Zelda, anyone?" Peach asked.

"Them too!"

**Overthere, Outside Grambi's Shrine-**

"HOLD IT!" a loud bark greeted them, and it made nearly everyone tense up. A Spiky Skellobit marched up to them, glowering darkly. "How'd you guys get in here? ! I thought we destroyed the bridge!"

Luvbi hovered above everyone, glaring down at the Spiky Skellobit like a lower life form. "Shuttest thy trap, foul one! Speakest! Doth my father fare well? ! If thou hast hurt a whisker on his face, I shall END all that is thou!"

"How? By insulting him to death?"

"Wh-Wh-Whaaaaaaaat? ! You little brat!" a sinister grin suddenly plastered on the Skellobit's face as he turned around and called out. "Hey! You guys! Fall in!"

A whole mass of Skellobits of every shape and form closed in on the group, and all jaws were dropped. It was like a hovering cloud of blue evil things were getting ready to charge! The Spiked Skellobit chuckled to himself before returning to the group.

"So, ya wanna see how scary we can be, little girly? ! Well, take a look!"

"I'm suddenly scared…" Luigi trailed, teeth chattering.

"Oh dear, there seems to be a lot of them…" Tippi trailed.

"You think? !"

"I didn't know there we so many left…"

"CALM THY MIND!" a more-familiar voice shouted, and the group turned around to witness Rebbi and an army of Nimbis. "I shall handle them! At long last, my strength returned to me…and now, these fiends shall reap the grim harvest of my Nimbi fury! The hour is nigh, Nimbi brigade! Art thou ready? !"

"YEEEEA!"

The mass of Nimbis advanced closer, and they pretty much matched up with the amount of Skellobits.

"Hast thou fear of these fiends from the Underwhere?" Rebbi asked his army.

"NAAAAAY!"

"Ooh, all tough cuz you got an army, huh? Let's see how you do against MINE!" snapped the Skellobit. "YER GOIN' DOWN!"

"THOU ART TOAST!" Rebbi stood his ground, and the group was exchanging bewildered glances among one another. "And now, Nimbi brigade…Ahem…CHAAAARGE!"

"NO MERCY!" bellowed the Skellobit.

The two side threw themselves at each other and, to appropriately say, all hell broke loose.

"OH SNAP!" Knuckles wailed. "It's like a fight to the death!"

"It's raining Nimbis and Skellobits!" cried Kirby, watching many of the denizens of The Overthere and The Underwhere fall beaten out of the sky.

"C'mon! We must reacheth my father!" Luvbi shouted over the roar of the battle. She took off like a bullet, the rest of the gang not being able to as fast due to the fact they were tripping over Nimbis and fighting off the random Skellobits.

"Oh man, this won't end well…" gulped Link, fighting against one that was fighting back with its spear.

"This is nuts!" Malon shouted, jumped around and avoiding everything like crazy. Just like several other before her, she tripped over a Nimbi and fell onto the ground. "Oomph! We'll never reach Grambi at this rate…"

Luigi plowed into several of the Skellobombers above, helping out the Nimbis that were still battling. Eggman shot wildly at any Skellobit that got in his way, and nearly the same applied for Ganondorf. Peach mainly defended against any stray Nimbis or Skellobits that were falling, but occasionally she would smack a few with her umbrella. Meta Knight swooped into the skies as well, battling from above like Luigi was. He spun around, holding his sword out, resembling a violent golden tornado as he took out several Skellobits in one setting.

Sonic, Link, and Mario, however, were looking for Samus, Zelda, and Amy.

"Do you see them?" Sonic called, kicking one of the Skellobits in the head.

"Nope!" Link yelled back, accidentally stepping on a Nimbi. "Oops! Sorry about that…"

"Dang it…" Sonic gritted under his breath, charging through the ground troops of enemies like a rocket. He kept rampaging through until he heard a familiar determined grunt. His heart stopped for a moment, trying to find the source, but it was hard to detect the sound with so many battle cries and shouts of pain bouncing all around. Sonic scanned the area frantically, not stopping until his eyes caught on a metallic orange sight, buried by blue and reddish-purple foes.

"Samus!" he yelped, fighting through the mob and making it over to her. He jumped up, curling into ball form, and started to glow slightly. "Ready? GO!"

Like a spinning ball of light, Sonic crashed into every Skellobit that was attacking Samus, and at the speed he was moving, he cleared them all out quite fast. He grabbed one lingering blue one that was still trying to pierce through Samus' armor and tossed it over his shoulder.

"Sam, are you okay?" Sonic asked, noticing how scratched up her Power Suit was. Samus just groaned.

"Yeah, I'm fine…my suit's seen better days though."

"What happened? It's not like you to be overtaken like this!"

"Shut up, they damaged a crucial part of my suit, and I can't move…I'm not paralyzed, but in a sense, my suit is…"

Sonic sweatdropped. "You and this suit of yours just can't seem to win, huh?"

"No…" she sighed and closed her eyes. "Sonic, you've got get me out of this battle zone…maybe Eggman can help me make repairs-"

"Dude, I'd feel better if Tails did it."

"You found him?"

"Yup, and we really need to get going…no time to explain anything, once we save The Overthere, everyone will fill you in on what you've missed.

"Unh…okay…"

At first, Sonic thought Samus had slipped into unconsciousness, but it turned out she had just fell asleep. Sonic sighed in relief, then tried to pick her up.

Only problem was, that was all he could do.

"Oh jeez, she's heavy…oog…KNUCKLES!"

Knuckles suddenly glided out of the fray above and landed next to Sonic almost immediately. "Yeah, what's u-SAMUS! ?

"Knuckles, can you get her out of her? I'm not strong enough to carry her…"

Knuckles raised an eyebrow. "Really Sonic? Because you told me that you once ran up the side of a volcano while carry her plus Link-"

"I was on adrenaline then! This is so different! And she's really heavy! Please, just do this for me!"

Knuckles took a deep breath, heaved a sigh, and held out his arms. Sonic practically dumped Samus into Knuckles' possession, followed by toppling to the ground wheezing for breath. Knuckles stumbled around until he regained his balance. He took one look at her closed face and raised an eyebrow.

"Is she dead?"

"Knuckles! Dude, she just fell asleep. I'm guessing the battling took a toll on her…when she wakes up, I'd bet that she'll be glad to see you."

"Just remember, you owe me for-"

"Thanks, Knuckles!"

Sonic sped off, Knuckles looking perplexed as he followed after him, slowing picking up speed as he carried Samus away. It made it a lot harder to dodge, but Knuckles still managed to pull it off.

"Hey! Sonic and Knuckles found Samus!" Kirby cheered, slicing a Skellobit in half.

"GARGH! These stupid things are getting on my nerves!" howled Bowser, shoving as many as he could out of his way. "I just want to go find that God-guy and get the heck out of this place!"

"Leave me alone!" Tails shouted, running past nearly everyone as three Skellobits chased him down.

Mario, meanwhile, was fighting his own battles when he heard a female shriek, and instantly pinned it down as Amy's. He searched around for her, continuing to hear her scream, until he finally found her being pulled apart by several Skellobits.

"Let me go! NOW!" she roared, fighting to get free. The monsters tugged harder, and she screamed louder. Mario had enough of the Skellobits at this point and tossed Thoreau at Amy, the Pixls grabbing her and bringing her back to Mario. He placed her on the ground to fight off the four Skellobits that were now targeting him. He jumped up, kicked one to ground, punched two in the face, then flipped and jumped on the final one. When he was finished, he turned back to Amy, who was in defensive mode. He gently tapped her shoulder, only for her to come out of her ball form and lash out at him.

"Get away from me! Get away or I'll tear your head off!"

Mario: It's-a me, Mario! O.o;

Blinking a few times, Amy realized it was Mario and covered up her mouth.

"ACK! Sorry, Mario! Samus and I have been fighting these things off for so long I just assume you were- how did you- never mind!"

Mario: We need to get to Grambi!

"Grambi…OH! The head Nimbi guy! He sent us out here to protect his shrine, but Samus and I got absorbed in the fray, and when we tried to escape, we found that the bridge out of here was broken, and Link was frozen on the other side…"

Mario decided that there was no time to stand around and explain anything, grabbed Amy's wrist, and took off up the large amount of steps that led into Grambi's shrine.

"C'mon, everyone!" Luigi shouted, jumping out of the battle cloud and pointing up the stairs. "We've gotta follow Mario!"

"Already on it!" Sonic and Knuckles called over their shoulders.

Meta Knight, Tails, Bowser, Ganondorf, and Kirby stopped fighting and hurried after as fast as they could. Malon and Eggman fought off a few more foes until they had a clear path to the shrine and bolted.

"Oh thank goodness that they found Samus and Amy!" Peach panted, watching Knuckles and Mario escort said females up the steps. "They must've had a hard time against so many Skellobits…"

"Yeah, but where's Zelda at?" Link grumbled under his breath, climbing up the stairs as well.

"I'd ask just what's going on," Amy panted, seeing everyone all in a hurry, Luvbi, and Team Luigi. "But I take it that this is a really bad time."

"Good Lord, why did they need to make those stairs so_ steep_," complained Bowser, trying to stretch out his back. Link, meanwhile, hit a ? Block that contained an Ultra Shroom that healed everyone by 50 HP.

"Hooray!"

"Enough chit-chat!" Luvbi barked, hovering madly in front of the door. "Goest in hither and helpest my father!"

Mario complied without complaint, opening the door and piling into the shrine with his other fourteen teammates. When they registered what was inside, however…

"G-Guys?"

"Yeah, Luigi?"

"I think we found the monster…"

* * *

**And thus, next weekend we fight the boss of The Overthere! (who is unfortunately ridiculously easy...) But eh, should be interesting. ^^**


	49. A Bone Chilling Tale

Super Paper Mario X

Chapter 49: A Bone-Chilling Tale

As everyone stood smacked surprised, Luvbi caught sight of her father and felt her eyes grow big.

"Oh…no!" she rushed to Grambi's side, who was looking awfully weak, part of him hanging limp. "Father! Father! Art thou all right?"

"Luvbi…" Grambi spoke coarsely. "Thou…should not…have come. Flee…from here…"

"Brooo ha ha ha…a touching scene, to be sure…" a third voice interrupted, a sound so cold that it could send chills up anyone's spine!

Mario and company slowly approached the beast positioned in the back of the room, a skinny blue dragon with wheels for legs and a thin curly black tail. He let out an icy roar, and several people started to shiver.

"Lemme guess…you're the big bad boss of all those little Underwhere hoodlums, right?" Bowser asked, unimpressed.

"That's the real monster that escaped The Underwhere!" Knuckles yelled, still holding Samus in his arms.

A pleasure to make your acquaintance, I assure you. My name is Bonechill. I am something of an evil celebrity in certain circles of The Underwhere…"

"That may be, but my father shall never give you the Pure Heart! So givest up!" Luvbi exclaimed boldly.

Bonechill bellowed with a chilling, amused laugh. "Oh, you dear, ignorant child…you really don't know a thing, do you? How charming."

Luvbi went from angry to surprised. "Wh-What dost thou mean? !"

Bonechill gained a devilish look. "I speak of the Pure Heart…And I speak of you, Luvbi…IT IS YOU!"

GASP.

"What…sayest thou?" Luvbi squawked. Everyone couldn't get any words out- talk about totally unexpected! Bonechill just laughed again.

"The Pure Heart was hidden ingeniously to keep it away from evil sorts like me…" he began to explain. "Grambi…changed the Pure Heart into a Nimbi…that he called his own daughter!"

"HUH? !" Amy exclaimed. "I might not know the whole story, but something about that seems…implausible!"

Ganondorf whirled around to Grambi with his jaw slacked. "Your devil of a daughter is a Pure Heart? !"  
Everyone then started shouting shocked exclamations as well.

"That brat was a mystical object that is the last hope to save all worlds? !"

"Evil little Luvbi is a piece of the Purity Heart? !"

"That doesn't make sense!"

"What a plot twist!"

"We've had it the whole time? !"

"Everything we know is a LIE!"

"Ha ha…" Luvbi chuckled nervously, ignoring the shouts of the confused team. "Th-that is just silly…my mother and father…"

Bonechill barked out with another cackle. "Oh, that is just priceless! You really think Grambi pays an ounce of attention to you out of love?"

"Th-that's…No…Thou liest!" Luvbi expression quickly changed to disappointed. "Father! Sayest something!"

Grambi was still trying to pull himself together from the beating he endured. "L-Lu…v…bi…unngh…"

"Broooo ha ha…the old fool can weigh the sins of others, but not his own…"

"It cannot…be…"

"Luvbi, we can talk later…" Tippi began. "Right now, just take Grambi to safety…"

Luvbi did nothing, so Tippi added an abrupt "QUICKLY!"

"O-OK…"

As Luvbi took Grambi away, the group struck battle stances facing Bonechill.

"Many thanks for delivering the Pure Heart. Once I deal with you, none can stop me! I shall be INVINCIBLE!"

"No one even really knows what you're trying to do…" Eggman said while scratching his head.

"Please, as your game ends, remember it is an honor to have it ended by my talons!"

He threw his head back and roared again, spewing out a jet stream of frozen air.

"Prepare to be frozen like the fair maiden behind me…"

He started to roll toward the group, but they currently paid him no mind as they looked past him.

Princess Zelda was encased in ice.

"ZELDA!" Link suddenly shouted, running right by Bonechill and desperately trying to unfreeze her.

"We've got to help her!" Peach cried, poking her head out of her parasol as an icicle bounced off of it.

"But we need to defeat this monster-thing!" Kirby shouted, kicking desperately at Bonechill's cannon.

"Heh, all we need to do is melt this thing by fighting ice with fire from yours truly!" Bowser chuckled, firing some flames instantly.

"Yeah, I don't think that's working…" Eggman proclaimed.

"Besides, you need to get over here and help Zelda!" Amy demanded.

"Bonechill can only be hurt by attacks to the head…" Tippi explained, using her power like Peach told her to. "I don't know why, but I get the feeling he's related to the Grambi and the Nimbis…I wonder if he was once a…"

"Once a what?"

"Oh, does it matter?" grumbled Ganondorf, melting an icicle that Bonechill blasted at them. "Who can reach its head?"

"I guess my team will take it on then," Luigi stated. "The rest of you work on thawing Zelda!"

"And will someone please fix up Samus?" Sonic pleaded, watching as Knuckles propped her up on a wall.

"Eggman can start, then I'll check her over once we take care of Bonechill," Tails offered. Sonic was hesitant, but he eventually agreed.

"Then let's do this!" Knuckles shouted, digging into the ground. Malon smacked her forehead.

"Obviously he didn't get the memo about being only able to attack the head…"

Bowser angrily walked over to Zelda where Link was constantly trying to warm her up. He pushed the swordsman out of the way, and then began to melt her icy prison. Eggman, meanwhile, headed over to Samus to inspect her suit, with Sonic watching over carefully.

Team Luigi, meanwhile, did a few stretches before they rounded Bonechill, the large evil foe trying to freeze them. All five (er, four, since Knuckles was still underground) jumped over his frozen breath, then went in to attack.

Meta Knight seized the chance first, flying toward Bonechill's head and striking him mightily with his sword. Bonechill screeched as a few of his scales crumbled off. Tails then followed in to the battering by clonking Bonechill with his trusty wrench and made more scales crumple off. Luigi and Malon were about to attack as well, But Bonechill threw his damaged head back again and caught them in a gust of his icy breath.

"That's not good…" Meta Knight commented as Luigi and Malon found themselves turned into popsicles. They shook rapidly, trying to unfreeze themselves, while Meta Knight and Tails pushed them out of the way of falling icicles. Knuckles finally sprung up out of the ground, but instead of hitting the cannon like he originally intended, he rocketed upwards into Bonechill.

"Yow-oooooo!"

"Not quite what I planned, but it works all the same!"

"Glad you could join us, Knuckles," Meta Knight mumbled. Knuckles looked over and saw that Luigi and Malon were frozen. Looking thoughtful, he balled up his fists, then smashed them into the ground. The quake that ensured afterwards freed Luigi and Malon, just as planned. However, it also made Sonic yell at Knuckles for being so reckless while Eggman was making intricate adjustments to Samus' suit.

"Well, sorry!"

Bonechill fired a dozen of ice bullets at the team, Tails shattering them all with a tap of his screwdriver.

"He's certainly not as frightening as we feared," Malon stated, getting a jump boost from Luigi then twirling into Bonechill's jaw. His scales were now almost completely gone.

"I can't believe Jaydes even fears this guy- he's a total chump!" Tails scoffed.

"Man, I was hoping for way tougher of a challenge," complained Knuckles.

"Don't wish for something like that, for it might come true," Meta Knight said wisely.

"Only thing we need to do now…" Luigi trailed, crouching down. "…is finish off this pathetic wimp! Ha HA!"

Luigi sprung into the air, he head crashing into Bonechill's jaw just like what Malon did. Luigi did a backflip before he landed, watching as Bonechill howled out on pain from being completely scaleless. The team shared a high five while Bonechill bellowed, "BRRARGH! How…impossible…how could you puny worms…destroy…a master…of the cold dark? !"

"Apparently by whaling on his head several times."

"Next time you want to take over heaven, hit a gym!" shouted Knuckles, with Malon and Meta Knight smacking their heads in the background.

Bonechill shattered into a ton of pieces, each and everyone one of them going right back down to where they came from. Team Luigi glanced over at the others- Samus was moving again and Zelda was free, though awfully cold and discombobulated.

"I shouldn't have come in here…" she trailed through chattering teeth. "That monster cornered me instantly and f-froze me…"

"The good news is, we're all finally back together now," Link sighed, wrapping Zelda in a hug.

"Yeah! All of our teams are complete!" cheered Kirby.

"Is Samus doing all right?" Amy asked, looking over Sonic's shoulder.

"Yep, I'm fine now…" Samus stated, standing back up. "Hopefully nothing else will find some way to make my suit malfunction."

"Glad I could help, Miss Aran," Eggman said unusually politely. Sonic gave him a suspicious look.

"I hope you didn't put some bomb in there or something-"

"Nic, I'm fairly confident there's not a bomb."

"At the very most, I'd be studying her suit's technology so I can use it in a robot to destroy you with!" Eggman said cheerfully.

"…not sure how to respond to that one…"

"Now all that's left to do here is get the Pure Heart…" Peach trailed, glancing at the door.

An upset Luvbi and worn-out Grambi came straddling in, Grambi feebly trying to thank the heroes.

"Thou…hast done a fine job…Thou hast saved our realm…"

"Father...the words of that thing…were lies, yea? Thou and Mother art my parents?"

Grambi trembled as he tried to explain, the group watching intently because they wanted to know just as much as Luvbi did. "Well…Luvbi…"

"LUVBI!" Queen Jaydes boomed as she burst through the doors, running over to her "daughter" and husband.

"Mother!" Luvbi squeaked.

"I had not received word of your safe arrival, so I came looking…"

"That means she could've just brought Luvbi here herself!"

"Are you well?"

"Speakest to me now, Mother. Father and thee…art thou verily my parents?"

Jaydes practically choked on her words. "Wait a minute, why do you…WHAAAAT! ?"

"Prithee, Mother. Speakest the truth to me."

Jaydes went from shocked to solemn, turning away from everyone. "…Luvbi…You…you are not really our child."

GASP. AGAIN.

"…as much as I dislike her, that has to hurt," Knuckles gulped.

"…So it is… true…" Luvbi trembled. Jaydes turned back to Luvbi, gaining the strength needed to face her.

"The Pure Heart was always in danger of falling into the hands of evil, darling. So Grams and I decided to transform it into a shape that no one would suspect…"

Luvbi stared at the ground. "And that was…me?"

A sudden flash lit up the place, making everyone but Grambi and Jaydes jump. All eyes fell on Luvbi, however, as the faint image of a Pure Heart fought to dominate her Nimbi form. Now Jaydes and Grambi were shocked as well.

"What…was that? !" Jaydes exclaimed.

"The Pure Heart doth struggle against the Luvbi identity…it seeketh its true form. It doth sense somebody nearby worthy of possessing it. It must be these fair folk…" Grambi deduced.

"So, uh, ha ha…" Luvbi chuckled unevenly, sneaking a glance at Mario. "Thou sayest I am meant to be with him…He verily is…my prince? This doth STINK! He is completely wrong for me!"

"Cruel hearted irony!" Kirby cried as Mario shook his head.

"I speak seriously to you…this hath no humor to it!"

Grambi moved to Jaydes' side as Luvbi inched closer to the teams. "Fine. I shall return to my Pure Heart form…and I shall go with Mario and his friends."

"Thou art certain?" Grambi asked, head hung low. "If thou turnest back into the Pure Heart, the Nimbi known as Luvbi…will cease to exist."

Peach clamped a hand over her mouth to conceal her gasp while Ganondorf muttered something about how great a thing Luvbi not existing would be, only to receive several smacks.

"Nay, perhaps I already have…I remember being the Pure Heart now, in truth. And the world would end if I did not do it, is this not so? So I should just…" Luvbi's tone suddenly changed. "Wait, why do I explain myself to thee? ! Thou art not my real father, so QUIET!"

Silence. A very sharp silence.

"Wh-What? !" Grambi finally managed to gasp out.

"To think of all the times thou hast scolded me! Thou didst KNOW I was not long for this world! Why didst thou not let me have fun? ! Nay! Instead, I suffered an angry fake father and a nagging fake mother! I had no life! How dost thou plan to make that up to me? !"

"I…don't know who they are…" Zelda trailed, still being held up by Link. "But…it's still…so upsetting…"

"I know," Amy agreed, trying to hide the fact tears were welling up at the corners of her eyes.

"Luvbi!" Jaydes said sternly, but that was all. Grambi, however, got into a full blown-out debate with Luvbi.

"Sayest thou what thou wilt to me, but talketh not to thy mother that way! Perhaps thy sass shall end once thou changeth forms! What dost thou waiteth for?"

"Oh, giveth me a break! I must do it whether thou wish or not. It shall be a RELIEF!"

"Thou art an ungrateful brat! Dost thou not recall when I lingered by thy ill bedside?"

"I scoff at thy lingering!" Luvbi shouted, contradictory to what she had said before. "Why dost thou not giveth me back the present I bought with my saved allowance!"

"What madness doth spew from thy lips? ! Who GAVETH thee that allowance? ! And thou didst lie to get the money too! Thou didst pretend to buy school books!"

"Can we get to the point-"

"Shut up, Ganondorf!"

"How dost thou DARE to lecture on lying!" Luvbi spat back. She turned away, and the group noticed that she didn't seem angry anymore. "And why dost thou think I lied? ! I thought that Mother and thee…I thought…thou wouldst…be happy…"

Grambi said nothing. Luvbi continued.

"The pair of thee…thou art not real parents…I…I hate thee…"

"I can't take it anymore!" Kirby bawled, sobbing on the ground. Mario lightly patted his head.

"…that's enough, Luvbi," Jaydes spoke up, after being so silent for the longest time. "It is true that we created you as a means of protecting the Pure Heart…but Grams and I came to love you as a true daughter. We wanted to be with you for all time, to protect you. You became a part of us. Perhaps we were wrong to create you…and if we only caused pain, then we apologize."

"Sniff…"

"Oh, Mother…" Luvbi sighed, turned back to Jaydes. "Thou needst not apologize…My dear Mother…thank thee…"

A flash of the Pure Heart emerged again, and Luvbi's frown grew even deeper if that was possible.

"The Pure Heart doth wish to assume its original form…"

"Luvbi…" whimpered Grambi helplessly.

"Tippi," Luvbi began, glancing at the rainbow butterfly. She gave a small smile, which was something the group rarely saw her do. "Takest good care of the real me. And…savest the worlds, yea? Such is my final wish, so if thou dost not do it, thou art most unkind!"

"I understand…" Tippi trailed.

Luvbi was a bit more cheerful now, facing Grambi and Jaydes once again. "Mother…Father…Fare the well…"

"Luvbi…" Grambi moaned again.

"Oh, my darling…" sighed Jaydes.

"I am…sorry for lying earlier…" her voice faltered, but her expression did not. "Because in truth…I…I love thee… both…"

Luvbi closed her eyes as the Pure Heart fought the break free, Luvbi fading in and out from her Nimbi form and her heart form. With a final flash, she stayed as a Pure Heart

Luvbi was gone.

"Luvbi…" now it was Jaydes' turn to sigh her name. Grambi lifted his head up to address the heroes, attempting to hide the anguish obvious on his face.

"Now, ye prophesized ones…Destined heroes…Takest our dear daughter…Takest the Pure Heart."

"OK, Grambi!" Luigi exclaimed.

"And sweareth this to me…thou must prevail! Let no one else in the universe feel this sadness!"

"Okeydokey!"

"Very well. Then I am satisfied…now, Luvbi, thou must go…"

"Oh, Grams…"

The white Pure Heart lifted into the air, placing itself into Mario's possession. The Pixls danced, but sadly, there wasn't much joy in obtaining this Pure Heart…

"We got the last Pure Heart…" everyone trailed solemnly.

With already heavy hearts, the heroes' next destination wasn't going to lift their spirits…

After all, it was finally time to go after Count Bleck…

. . .

"Heroes…my daughter wanted thee to save all worlds. 'Twas her final wish." Grambi spoke slowly through his tears as the brave Nimbis cleaned up The Overthere. Draped in sadness, Queen Jaydes walked slowly into her palace in The Underwhere. Mario, his friends, and the eighth Pure Heart were all that remained…

This Pure Heart had come at a high price. Let us hope it was all worthwhile.


	50. Embracing the Blackest Truth

Super Paper Mario X

Chapter 50: Embracing the Blackest Truth

"WHAT! ?…spat Count Bleck in utter disbelief. Surely this news cannot be true! The heroes still live?"

"Ah ha ha. Oh, I'm afraid so, my count. In fact, they will be here before long," Dimentio practically sang.

"Whuh? ! Izzat true, then! ?" babbled O'Chunks. "What're we doin' twiddlin' out biscuits 'ere? ! Count Bleck, lemme go throw 'em a nice welcome party…I'll bring the punch!"

"Oooh, I wanna party with those party poopers too! Wait up, O'Chunks! Mimimimimi!"

O'Chunks and Mimi left their posts, scurrying off so that they'd be ready for when the heroes arrived on their doorstep.

"Well, I'm not one to miss a party…" Dimentio trailed as well. He suddenly remembered something, however, and snapped his fingers. "Oh, but wait one moment…Dear Count…Does the name Blumiere ring a bell?"

Count Bleck raised an eyebrow while Nastasia looked completely started. "Where did you hear that name, Dimentio? !"

"Oh, the pink princess' Pixl went on and on…she said, "I must stop Blumiere.""

Count Bleck lowered his cane and covering his face with the brim of his hat. Dimentio gained a playful smirk.

"But I suppose there's no reason to pay any mind to the ramblings of a Pixl…Ciao for now, my count!"

Dimentio teleported away while Nastasia was still looking dumfounded. "Count Bleck! If…um…If that Pixl is who you think it is…There's still time! You can still stop the prophecy from destroying everything! Yeah, because, if that's really her…if she's alive, you have to stop all this!"

"You know not what you are saying, Nastasia," Count Bleck said dully. "The prophecy can no longer be stopped by Count Bleck. No one can stop it."

"Yeah, I'm on board with what you're saying…but there must be a way. There must…Lord Blumiere!"

Count Bleck revealed his face once again and let out a crazy cackle. "The man once known as Blumiere died long ago. Now there is only Bleck! The Dark Prognosticus' choice to fulfill the prophecy! Nothing more!"

"But…" Nastasia started at the ground.

Count Bleck ignored Nastasia and spread out his cape, shouting to the sky.

"Come to Count Bleck, heroes…If you hope to save these worlds, then come…BLEH HEH HEH HEH BLECK!"

_. . ._

_"Blumiere, my son, don't! Even your ancestors could not handle that dark book…if you open it…there's no telling what will happen!"_

_"I do not care, Father! A world without her is empty. A LIFE without her is empty. Speak, Dark Prognosticus! Teach your dark history! I await your command! BLEH HEH HEH HEH! BLECK!"_

_"Blumiere…what have you done?"_

_"Silence! The first prophecy beckons. I will erase ever inch…of this blasted world!"_

_"Blu-Blumiere! Don't do this! Blumiere!"_

_"Blumiere is no more! I am Count Bleck! And no one shall stand in my way! BLEH HEH HEH! BLECK!"_

* * *

**I refuse to call this a chapter. :P**

**But, on an unrelated note, I'm looking forward to Monday! And I'm not gonna say why! ^^**


	51. Before the Bleck

Super Paper Mario X

Chapter 51: Before the Bleck

_"No! Blumiere! You mustn't! Darling…how could you…Oh….Darling…you…why…"_

"Who the heck is she calling 'darling'?"

"Dude, who the heck is Blumiere?"

"What doesn't she want him to do…?"

"Hey! Tippi! Snap out of it, will ya? !"

"Wha-? !"

Tippi was lying on the ground, in front of the purple door, in-between Team BEG and Team Luigi on one side with Team Mario and Team ZAP on the other.

"I thought you'd just gone back to town, but then I saw you lying there, not moving…" Peach trailed.

"And shouting things to the sky!" added Knuckles.

"Yes…then you started shouting loudly. I have to say, it kind of startled me."

"Um…I'm all right…I'm sorry for startling you…"

"Blumiere…is that a person's name you were saying? Were you remembering something from your past, perhaps?"

"No…it's nothing…nothing at all…"

"So, should we go to Merlon's?" Luigi asked. "We ought to tell him that we found the last Pure Heart!"

Mario: Oh yeah!

**Merlon's-**

The house was even more crowded now, considering that there were now sixteen total people that needed to squeeze in there. Merlon was a bit shocked at the sudden abundance of heroes, but happy to see them all just the same.

"So…we have gathered all the Pure Hearts and all four teams of the heroes, it seems…" he mused.

"Gwa ha ha ha! Now we just stomp this Count Bleck guy and call it a day!" laughed Bowser.

"If only it was that easy…" groaned Tails.

"I know right?" Kirby agreed.

"I fear for the people of this world who must continue to look at the sky and worry," said Peach. "We must act quickly and ease their hearts and minds!"

"…what troubles you, Tippi?" Merlon asked, sensing the butterfly's uneasiness as she floated over Peach's shoulder.

"The prophecy…do we really have to destroy Count Bleck to prevent it from happening?"

"Much of the dark prophecy has already come to pass…but stop it we must. It was by Count Bleck's hand that the Chaos Heart was summoned, bringing this peril. Without him, the prophecy's power will wither, and the worlds can avoid their ends."

"Yes…I suppose you're right…I guess we always knew that, didn't we…"

"Tippi? What's the matter, huh?" Luigi asked.

"You're…not really yourself…" trailed Zelda.

"Yeah, you can tell us, Tipps!" exclaimed Sonic.

"My dear…" Merlon began. "Was there something between you and this Count Bleck?"

"Um…no, nothing…It was nothing…I'm fine! Let's go!"

"…very well then. Once again, your first task is to set this Pure Heart in a Heart Pillar."

"The last one!" Malon pointed out.

"Once you've done that, you must head back to the black tower in Flopside…"

"And we can get to Flopside by taking that blue pipe, eh, Link?"

"I told you to quit rubbing it in, Amy."

**Flopside, 2nd Floor-**

"Okay! So, where was the…fourth Heart Pillar located?" Samus asked. "The Eighth one should be on the opposite spot of where the fourth was."

"That one was the one where I had to use Thudley, I think!" Bowser recalled.

"Ugh, that was the one where we all went for, like, no reason…" groaned Link. Peach blinked.

"Oh yeah. That one."

**Flopside Outskirts, 2nd Floor-**

"…and we go to the right this time!"

Team Luigi jumped over several of the pillars in the way (despite the fact that anyone could've gotten over them) and finally landed at the Heart Pillar on the other side.

"Once again, we all didn't really need to be here…"

Peach made a face as Luigi lifted up the white Pure Heart, placing it in the slot where it belonged. Malon sighed sadly.

"I can't believe we just put Luvbi into a pillar…"

. . .

At the top of Flopside Tower, which was black in contrast to Flipside's white tower, a large black door drew itself into existence, seemingly opening up into The Void itself…

. . .

"What're the odds that a white Pure Heart leads to a black door?"

"Beats me."

"So, the time has come…" Nolrem trailed, making his way up to the heroes. "Heroes…the last door is at the top of Flopside Tower in the center of town! I'll go ahead and wait there for you…once you've prepared for the battle that awaits beyond that door, come to me…"

"Well…" Link trailed once Merlon was gone. "Are we all ready?"

"As ready as we'll ever be!" Sonic exclaimed.

"Yeah, I'm ready to go!" cried Kirby.

"Can't wait to get this over with," Samus said with a smirk.

"No more looking at a dark hole in the sky…" Peach nearly whispered.

"We can finally go home after this!" Amy realized.

"It has been a long journey…" Zelda agreed.

"I'm still in disbelief that we've managed to hang with the heroes this long!" gaped Bowser.

"I never thought I'd see the day…" sighed Ganondorf.

"Anything to stay alive, I suppose…" shrugged Eggman.

"Count me in too! I've been dying for some adventure like this!" Malon cheered.

Tails laughed. "I know, so have I!"

"Anything to avenge my world…" Meta Knight murmured.

"As long as we get to knock a few heads along the way, I'm good!" assured Knuckles.

"Are you up for this, Bro.?" Luigi asked, turning to Mario.

Mario: Oh yeah! Let's-a go!

"Just what I wanted to hear," chuckled Link.

"We're ready when you are!" cried Thoreau, Boomer, Slim, Dashell, Thudley, Carrie, Barry, Fleep, Cudge, Dottie, and Piccolo.

"Anything to save the worlds…" Tippi trailed. "Anything to save him…"

**Flopside Tower-**

When they arrived, they found Nolrem already there, just like he had said. He guarded the large black door, as if to prevent them from entering before he could get in his final words.

"This is the final door. Eight Pure Hearts versus the Dark Prognosticus…Castle Bleck awaits."

"There was something on the last page of the Light Prognosticus…" Merlon trailed, arriving on the scene. "Only those who have not abandoned hope can turn back the prophecy of doom. They walk forward into the future, no matter how dark and uncertain it may be."

"You have fought all this way because you believe the future could be bright…" Nolrem picked up where Merlon left off. "I can't go through this door with you, but I send you with all the hope in my heart."

"I know that you can do it. I, too, believe it in my heart."

Mario: Yeah!

"Thank you, both of you," Peach said kindly.

"Leave it to us!" assured Luigi.

"Are we gonna group-hug?" Bowser groaned in a mocking tone. "Enough pep talks, gramps! I'm doing this for ME!"

"Tippi…" Merlon trailed off, staring at the beloved Pixl he rescued long ago. "I don't know what is in your mind, but…if this is too hard for you, please feel free to stay behind."

"No…I'm going…I've decided. I must do this!"

"Tippi…if your memory…returns…" Merlon paused, then changed the subject. "Tippi, you've changed so much. You've grown so strong…so! Be sure to return safely to me!"

"I will, Merlon," she turned to heroes. "Let's go! Let's defeat Count Bleck! Let's save all these worlds from destruction!"

Everyone nodded unanimously, The Void on the sky growing ever larger still.

"And hurry," Nolrem added. "For the worlds may not have much time! In that black span of nothing, you will find Castle Bleck. You may face battles harder than any you have endured thus far…if you feel ready to face this challenge, then please go forward."

"Well someone has to do it."

And thus, they headed onwards into the dark, unforgiving The Void…

"Team Mario…Team ZAP…Team BEG…Team Luigi…Be strong."

"And you too, Tippi."

. . .

After finding every Pure Heart, the band of heroes set off for Castle Bleck. The stakes were high as the ominous void grew larger and the end drew near. Could Mario and friends stave off the inevitable and overturn the prophecy? What strange twist of fate awaited Tippi and Count Bleck? These thoughts plagued the minds of our heroes as the curtain rose on the final act…

* * *

**At long last, we finally reach Castle Bleck! After all the good times, bad times, backtracking, filler-chapters, action-packed and not-so action-packed boss battles...there's only 9 chapters left!**


	52. The Impending Darkness

Super Paper Mario X

Chapter 52: The Impending Darkness

"So here we are at last…Count Bleck's Castle," Tippi confirmed.

Everyone gaped up at the various shades of grey that the huge castle was painted, plus the large front door that resembled a cracked mirror. The path leading up to the castle was lit up by lanterns with black flames.

"Don't you run, Bleck! Your face is about to feel the burn!" Bowser exclaimed.

"So Blumiere IS here…" When Tippi saw everyone staring at her, she sweatdropped. "Er…never mind. We'd better get going."

"Ah, how I hate this place…" Malon groaned as they walked toward the door.

"Same here," murmured the rest of Team Luigi and Team ZAP.

"We can't help that half of us weren't ever here before," Samus huffed.

"Are you kidding? I'm glad I was whisked to some sort of open field in the Bitlands!" exclaimed Eggman. "It sure beats the castle- I think we're lucky."

"But we at least have a vague idea about this place…" Zelda trailed.

"Yeah, beat that!" retorted Knuckles.

"Well maybe we should just head through the giant door…" Kirby suggested, pointing forward.

"I don't know if I really want to…" murmured Tails, following Mario and Luigi inside.

. . .

"Bleck certainly knows how to welcome visitors…" Samus grunted, shooting at two Koopatrols that were running right at them.

"The indignity about being attacked by your own minion…" moaned Bowser.

"Is that thing your minion too?" Malon asked meekly, pointing to a barely visible blotchy monster. It conjured up some sort of magic, firing a black and blue blast at the heroes.

"Um, no."

Zelda summoned Nayru's Love to protect them from the blast (and from another charging Koopatrol), followed by Kirby running in to do some damage. As soon as he struck down with his Final Cutter, however, the Magiblot (as Tippi explained was its name) disappeared.

"Wh-what…?"

"Apparently it's a hit and run type…" murmured Meta Knight, slashing at another one. "How cowardly…"

"Good gosh, how many of these things are there? !" Amy complained, swinging Cudge's hammer into three at a time.

"Pretty interesting welcoming committee…" Link remarked, running past Luigi and Peach to hack at a Koopatrol.

"Certainly doesn't boost my confidence for what's to come," muttered Knuckles, slamming his fists into the ground and knocking the rest of the enemies down. Ganondorf then threw up his hands and scorched the remaining foes with a purple fire wall.

"Is that all of them?" Luigi asked nervously.

"Yeah, we can keep going now."

"Wonder what they'll throw at us next…"

. . .

"Bahahahaha! Goombas!" Sonic cackled. "They really must've thought we'd be taken out by the first wave to put Goombas in the second!"

"Poor helpless mushrooms," Zelda snickered as she fried them all with Din's Fire. Mario began to ascend up a set of stairs where a Boomerang Bro. was waiting. He jumped up, tossed Thoreau, grabbed the boomerang, and threw it right back at the turtle. Being hit by its own weapon must've been enough to put it out of commission, because it collapsed on the stair, defeated.

Mario: Yow.

"Hey…what's through this door?" Malon wondered, opening said door at the top of the step. Peach, who was walking by, caught a glimpse of what was beyond the door and grimaced.

"That's where Zelda jumped…"

Malon whirled around and raised an eyebrow. "Jumped? What in the worlds do you mean by that?"

"Nastasia and a few brainwashed enemies had us cornered," Zelda explained as she kicked away a red Koopa shell. "She was getting ready to hypnotize me, but I jumped at the last moment…"

"How'd you end up back here, then?" Tails asked.

"Apparently Dimentio saved her, but then used her as bait later on," Amy added. "We still have no idea what his intentions were…"

"We that's obviously not the way we're supposed to be going, so let's go already!" Bowser shouted from the other side. The five of them quickly scrambled out of the room and followed after the rest of the gang, continuing to ascend up the steps.

"I hate this place…" grumbled Samus, clearing two more Boomerang Bros. out of their way. "It's so monotonous and dull. I mean, black with thin white ascents? Please!"

"Obviously they didn't have an interior decorator on their squad," scoffed Eggman. "I would have at least added some color!"

"This is going to be a long chapter…"

. . .

"AUGH! Giant eyeball without a head!" Luigi yelped, ducking under a laser it zapped out of its pupil.

"I've got it, Thunder!" Knuckles called, running at the eye with an extended fist.

"You're never going to stop calling me that, are you?"

"At least you weren't nicknamed Sam," scoffed Samus.

"At least you're not stuck with "Nic"!" Sonic countered.

Anyway, Knuckles bolted toward the Mr. I, only for it to look right at him and blast him with a laser as well. Knuckles went tumbling backward and crashed onto the floor.

"Looks like you need a new strategy, Knuckles," Malon teased.

"Ya think? !"

Mario already knew what to do- he flipped into 3D, where three of the Mr. Is (one of them being red as well) suddenly turned to him and blasted lasers. Mario quickly jumped over them all, then ran rapid circles around the eyeballs. After getting incredibly dizzy from trying to follow Mario, all three eyeballs exploded on contact.

"They lacked the brain to comprehend."

"Great, a locked door," huffed Eggman, standing at a door to the far right.

"Here, let's see if I can get it off!" Bowser suggested, summoning Thudley. "I did it once!"

He performed a very heavy ground pound that sent everyone up in the air, but the lock didn't budge.

"I really think we're going to have to find a key-"

"But I did it before! And all I had to do was stomp my foot in a blind rage then!"

"Then again, I bet Pennington didn't have the sturdiest of locks," Ganondorf pointed out. Bowser just glared at him.

Meanwhile, Amy looked up and noticed a door on an upper balcony and snapped her fingers.

"Up there!"

"That's where we watched that Hammer Bro. get hypnotized…" Zelda trailed.

"I wonder where he is now," Peach pondered as Team Luigi took control and jumped up onto the ledge. Upon removing control, as fast as they had gained it, the rest of the crew appeared beside them, and they all headed into the next area.

. . .

"Geez, the simple yet abundant puzzles of this place remind me of the Palace of Shadow."

"We've just started! We haven't even engaged in a true puzzle yet!"

"Is it foreshadowing? Or just the usual predictability?"

"My castle was way more complicated than this-"

"Why is no one listening to me? ! We JUST started!"

Mario ignored them all and gazed at the area- they were outside once again, and the entirety of The Void loomed over them all. Peach stepped next to her plumber hero and frowned slightly.

"This is where I woke up…and found Zelda and Amy waiting for me…"

"And the key has to be in this area, so basically you could've gotten through this place a long time ago?" questioned Eggman.

"Hey, quiet!" snapped Zelda. "If the key really is in this area, there's no way we could've reached it!"

"We can reach it though!" Tails called happily, flying up onto a higher ledge that no one else would've been able to reach. His side held two chests, while on the other side Meta Knight found only one.

"I didn't find the key, but there's a pipe over here!" Meta Knight announced. "You guys stay there and I'll head in!"

"Are you sure about that, Meta Knight?" Kirby asked. "What if you need someone?"

"I'm sure I can handle it," Meta knight assured, heading down the pipe. Kirby put on a perplexed look.

"Mmm, I don't trust that…Amy, feel like following?"

Amy shrugged. "Okay! Why not?"

As Kirby grabbed Amy's wrist and floated with her over the gap to the pipe, Tails landed back down in front of the group looking disappointed.

"What'd you find, Tails?" Malon asked.

"A Stopwatch and a Long-Lasting Shake- nothing cool."

"That Stopwatch would've been great for when we were trying to escape…" complained Zelda.

"Nothing we can do about it now," sighed Peach.

**With Meta Knight, Kirby, and Amy-**

"I told you not to follow," Meta Knight grumbled, defeating a Magiblot rather swiftly with his sword.

"There's safety in security, you know," Kirby replied, using Barry to reflect the Magiblot's attack. Meta Knight just muttered something under his breath.

"I only came just in case you needed to glide over something," Amy pointed out.

"But we can all fly…"

Amy blinked. "Well, then I came for the excitement. How's that?"

No one was able to answer her, because she quickly had a hammer materialize in her hand and batter away an oncoming Koopa shell. Looking over, Kirby and Meta Knight saw a Soopa Striker trying to attack them and ran in to help as well.

"We're just trying to get a key- outta the way!" Kirby shouted, knocking the Striker down with a hammer to the head.

"I could've done that," scoffed Amy.

"Then why didn't you?"

Meta Knight just shook his head and kicked the Soopa Striker's shell, which cleared the path out of any enemies that resided in its path. At the very end rested a single chest, which Meta Knight kicked open and produced a key.

"See? I could've handled myself just fine!"

Kirby just stuck out his tongue. "Be happy we cared enough about your safety!"

Meta Knight gave Kirby a look as Amy suddenly started up about something Sonic did for her.

**With the Rest of the Gang, Previous Area-**

"-and then the turtles took us away, and you know the rest," Zelda finished, ending her story.

"Doesn't beat what happened to us in the castle," Malon scoffed.

"And what exactly did happen?" questioned Eggman.

"You don't wanna know!" Tails suddenly yelped, causing everyone to turn and give him a suspicious look. Before he had to explain himself, Amy, Kirby, and Meta Knight returned, with Meta Knight waving the key in the air.

"Took ya long enough," snarled Bowser.

"Well, I was slowed down a bit-"

"Oh, please, Kirby!"

Beyond the Locked Door-

"Boy, for the final area, we sure are making progress!"

"The first room was tougher than the ones now."

"This is gonna bite us in the butt…"

They walked down the next corridor, which was ominously spacious. Mario told everyone to stay on guard, since enemies were bound to show up sometime. As if on cue, two Dull Bones came to life, only to be disintegrated by Bowser's flames and Eggman's lasers.

"Ugh! What is that pink thing crawling around?" Malon cringed, flinching when it started to come near her.

"It's a Cursya," Samus explained, walking in front of her and blasting the treat away. "Don't touch them- especially the black one; they take you all the way back to Flipside for whatever reason…"

"How does the pink one curse you?"

"It makes you barely able to jump, I believe," Tippi explained. "Which is why it's called a Heavy Cursya."

"That would make it even harder for Eggman to jump," snickered Ganondorf.

"You can't jump very well either!"

"I can still jump higher than you!"

"Grah, stop fighting without my permission!" Bowser ordered. "Ganondorf, only mock Eggman if it's something hilarious. Eggman, only counter if you actually have something intelligent to counter with!"

"Yay!" "I can't believe this!"

"What I can't believe is how they always have conversations like this," sighed Luigi.

"I can't believe Ganondorf just said "Yay"!" exclaimed Link.

"What? I can express happiness!"

"On rare occasions…" groaned Zelda.

"1.3465 percent of a chance!" Tails calculated.

"Oh forget it…" Ganondorf grunted, continuing to walk down the hall.

He crushed any Dull Bones lying haplessly on the ground while Knuckles ran around punching any Magikoopas that decided to approach. Link noticed a Tech Cursya lurking around as well, this one being purple in color, and rapidly slashed at it before anyone got cursed.

"What would that one have cursed us with if we touched it?" Zelda asked, dispatching more Dull Bones.

"Well, each team would lose their special abilities," Tippi explained. "Team Mario couldn't flip, Team ZAP couldn't glide, Team BEG would lose their high attack power, and Team Luigi wouldn't be able to super jump!"

"Boy, I'm sure glad that one didn't get to us…" Luigi trailed nervously.

Meanwhile, Mario had flipped into 3D and worked his way behind a white Gawbus, grabbing its tail with Thoreau and holding it high above its head. He tossed it at Sonic, who jumped up and gave it a sharp kick toward the ground. Peach followed up by smacking it with her umbrella, sending it rolling into another white Gawbus.

"Whoa, they sure are getting abundant with the dragons…" Amy trailed, striking one's head. It recoiled from the blow, snarled at Amy, and started to chase her.

"Here, let me help!" Malon exclaimed, placing her flute to her lips. A short tune was played, causing all the Gawbuses to shrink down to microscopic size. Now grinning sinisterly, Amy whipped up a hammer again and ran after the Gawbuses, smacking any that she came in contact with. When she took them all out, she and Malon slapped a high five.

"That takes care of that!"

. . .

"More stairs?"

"More Bros.?"

"More boring color scheme?"

"Repetition much?"

"I outta sue the guy who designed this place!"

Mario just rolled his eyes and took off up the stairs, jumping over the fire balls that the Fire Bros. spat out. Blue Magiblots appeared as well, but Bowser and Tails managed to defeat them without too much trouble.

"Stupid things…" Tails grunted, smacking another one with his wrench. As he did battle with the Magiblot, Luigi jumped next to him and stared up at the wall.

"Weird…"

"What's weird, Luigi?" Peach asked, walking up next to him.

"Nothing, just found it a bit odd that only some of these torches are lit up- why aren't they all lit up?"

"It's obviously a sign of something," Kirby declared. He then put on a serious look and pointed at Eggman. "YOU! Write down how many torches there are and which ones are lit!"

"What? ! Why me? ! And what makes you think you can tell me what to-"

"You're the one in the group that's always prepared, remember?" Ganondorf snickered. Eggman muttered something inaudible as he whipped out his notepad and started writing down what Kirby told him to. There were five torches, and the second, third, and fifth were the ones that were lit. Once Eggman finished jotting down the note, he was promptly hit in the head with a blast from a Magiblot.

"Man, why is it always the head? !"

"Stop worrying about your head!" Samus snapped, defeating two more Fire Bros. and climbing up more stairs. "Has anyone else felt periodic shakes…?"

"Yeah!" Luigi practically yelped. "Who can't feel them? ! It's like this place is getting ready to fall apart!"

"Well, what idiot would build a castle right smack dab in the center of all destruction? Count Bleck, that's who!" complained Bowser as he wrested a few Koopatrols to the grounds. "And all my brainwashed minions aren't doing any justice either!"

Beyond where Bowser battled the Koopatrols, Sonic located a ? Block and hit it. Out popped an Ultra Shroom, which was a really good thing, but something about it didn't feel quite right…

"Makes me wonder what's ahead…" Sonic muttered under his breath as everyone's HP was replenished.

"So you sense a trap, Sonic?" Link asked.

"Not necessarily a trap, just something…unpleasant."

"Well I don't see how any of this can get even worse," Knuckles shrugged, pushing through Sonic and Link and going through the next door.

"Idiot! You can't just go bursting through doors like that!" Malon exclaimed, running after him.

"That's what I tell people all the time!" cried Kirby as he followed after.

"Well all of you are running in now!" Amy added, following them.

"Oh good grief, everyone get your butts in that room!" Eggman ordered, the rest of the group piling in quickly.

. . .

In the next room, it was twice as dark, but everyone could tell that nothing threatening was lurking in the shadows, thank goodness for those who loved to run on ahead. However, there was one thing of significance in the room…

"Well, look at that- unlit torches," Zelda announced.

"Eggman! The notes!" Kirby requested, striking a pose as well.

"Yeah, so Bowser can shed some light on things!" chuckled Link.

"Hmph!" Eggman pulled out his notepad and flipped through the page. "Let's see…let's see…oh yeah. Second, Third, fifth. Can you handle that Bowser?"

"No, because breathing fire just isn't my forte," Bowser grunted sarcastically, lighting up the correct torches. Once the sconces were ablaze, everyone glanced to the right, where a huge set of white stairs drew themselves into existence.

"Ugh, stairs? !" Bowser complained, meekly placing his foot on the first one. "Do these people know how much climbing stairs takes outta me? !"

"Whee!" cried Team Luigi, flying up the stairs with ease.

"HEY! Stop rubbing it in my face!"

"Just come on, Bowser…" Ganondorf sighed, casually waking up the steps.

"Yeah, it's so easy, even an Eggman can do it!" snickered Sonic, jerking his thumb at Eggman hustling up the steps.

"I heard that, hedgehog!"

Eventually, everyone made it to the top, where Mario was waiting until everyone was ready to enter. A few people needed convincing, since they were slightly apprehensive about what rested ahead, but everyone entered the door sooner or later.

. . .

"HARBEL-DEH!"

"Does anyone know what he just said?"

"Whatever it was…" Bowser grumbled. "It can't be anything to our benefit…"

The group all gained precarious looks as they approached O'Chunks, who was standing around as if he had been waiting for them.

"Slap me down with a slab O' mutton, I never would o' though yeh'd make it 'ere!" O'Chunks exclaimed. "I'll tell yeh this, though, yeh shouldn't 'ave been such a fork in me rumpus! Now I 'ave to hit yeh with the full force o' me chunks!"

"Sorry Chump, we've gotta stop the sky from falling," Knuckles retorted casually.

"And I suppose you weren't using this 'full force" before?" questioned Zelda.

"At least he isn't sporting the latest lettuce fashion this time," muttered Samus.

"Pbbbth!" scoffed Bowser, making his way to the front of the group. "That's big talk for the chump who gets stomped again…and AGAIN!"

"O'W DERE YEH!"

"What? You know he's dead on with that!" snickered Ganondorf.

"You heard me," Bowser continued, now getting up in O'Chunks' face for emphasis. "You're goin' down, chunky boy!"

"WHAAAAT? ! 'Ow about provin' it, then!"

"We'd be happy to," Eggman replied, entering the banter as well.

"Right 'ere, yeh and me! Wrasslin' match o' the ages!"

"Bring it, beardo!" Bowser challenged, all ready to fight. "We'll take you on alone! I got all the sweet stomping you need, right here, and then some!"

"As if your first few beatings weren't enough," added Ganondorf, punching a fist into his palms.

"Bowser…" Peach asked slowly, looking perplexed. "Are you sure about this?"

Bowser turned to his "wife" and let out a low chuckle. "Bwaha! Don't you worry! I've had egg-salad sandwiches chunkier than this guy."

"Excuse me?" Eggman asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You just step back and watch how totally awesome tyrants get business done!"

As Team BEG turned back to O' Chunks, the rest of the group slowly backed away, giving the group their space. O' Chunks, meanwhile, looked like he was getting ready to blow a fuse.

"I'm gonna 'urtle into yeh with the force of a massive, 'airy, comet, yeh great crybabies! CHUNK UP!"

Team BEG's eyes bulged as O'Chunks suddenly started to grow, now towering over the team of villains. They just gaped as O'Chunks showed off his new height as strength.

"Bet yeh weren't 'specting THAT, were yeh? Where's yer flappin' mouth now, eh?"

Team BEG: *still gawking*

"It's time fer an old-fashioned, no-'olds-barred…RUMBLE!"

"Fine then, give it your best shot!" Team BEG cried, running at their enlarged adversary.

O'Chunks started off like always, trying to slam then into the ground. All three of them dodged then prepared to attack. Eggman pressed the button on his remote to get it to transform into his battle machine while Bowser and Ganondorf started to distract him.

"All I need are my flames," Bowser smirked, leaning down and sending out a sea of fire. O'Chunks suffered some severe damage from that, but retaliated by running straight at Bowser and slamming him into the wall. Ganondorf grunted and lit his hands up with his purple magic, firing several spheres at O'Chunks' back. O'Chunks felt the sting of that as well, then turned around and gave Ganondorf a sinister look.

"Yeah, stare at me all you want, you're not scaring anyone," Ganondorf huffed.

"Yeah, well yeh better be scared!" O'Chunks shouted back, slamming into the ground and creating a huge black block. He hurled it at Ganondorf, effectively crushing him under the weight. As O'Chunks laughed at his feat, he looked down and saw Eggman sitting in his machine, donning a smirk of his own.

"Take this!" he yelled, pressing the buttons quickly and causing the turrets to pop out. He bellowed out his laugh as O'Chunks frantically tried to run away from the missile, only to be stopped by a punch in the face from Bowser. He stumbled to the ground, allowing the missiles to finally catch up with him.

"Grrrrrr…"

O'Chunks pushed himself off the ground, glaring at Bowser and Eggman surrounding him. His face then gained a lighter expression as suddenly he rocketed upwards. Bowser and Eggman exchanged glanced before looking up.

"What in the heck?"

O'Chunks came flying down head first, sending Bowser and Eggman into the floor. As they tried to pull themselves together, O'Chunks was wondering where Ganondorf got off to.

"I'm right here," Ganondorf's voice called out, but O'Chunks couldn't see him.

"Blast it all! Knock off this tomfoolery NOW!" O'Chunks complained, pausing to stomp his foot angrily.

"Now is your chance," Dottie told Ganondorf, to which the Dark Lord nodded and returned to normal size. Now that he was vulnerable, O'Chunks was able to be easily kicked down by Ganondorf when he was least expecting it. He skidded into the wall, looking up only to see Bowser ground pound into him with Thudley.

"That'll show him!" cheered the Pixl. "No one's girthier than you!"

"Except Peach, apparently," murmured Ganondorf as Eggman charged with all his weapons once again.

"LASER CANNON!"

"Laser wha- DAAAAAH!"

O'Chunks was blasted brutally by Eggman's secret weapon- being the laser cannon. Once the attack wore off, O'Chunks grabbed Ganondorf and hurled him into Eggman, sending them skimming across the ground. Bowser didn't take light to that and ran at O'Chunks once again. O'Chunks just ran at Bowser as well, and being bigger than Bowser was, managed to shove him right into the pile along with Eggman and Ganondorf.

"Do we have a plan?" Ganondorf groaned.

"Not die?" suggested Eggman.

"C'mon guys, how can we show our faces again if we get whipped by this loser?" Bowser grunted.

"Well we can't exactly dish out an pain when you're sitting on us!" exclaimed Ganondorf.

"Just listen to me for a minute! He might be bigger, but he certainly isn't better. We bombard him once and he'll be finished!"

"And just what do you have in mind?" Eggman questioned.

Bowser got back up and started to approach O'Chunks. "Just roll with me…"

"'Ey, are yeh back so I can finish yeh off?" O'Chunks chuckled, running at Bowser without a care.

"Actually, it's gonna be the other way around, pal!"

He shot flames at O'Chunks, causing him to jump back and avoid the attack easily. However, he jumped into Ganondorf, whose hands were glowing purple once again as he grabbed O'Chunks. He gave him a hard shove away, but O'Chunks regained his balance surprisingly quickly. Before he could make any moves, however, he suddenly felt himself spin around rapidly, leaving him immobile.

"Excellent, Fleep," Eggman stated, now back in his machine and targeting O'Chunks. Fleep practically took a bow.

"I'd happy do it again, and then some more, amore!"

"Oh ho ho ho ho ho!"

O'Chunks barely knew what hit him- he just knew that he was sent flying into the rightmost wall. When he wearily opened his eyes again, he saw flames brimming out of Bowser's mouth, Ganondorf preparing to launch an attack, and Eggman now out of his machine and pointing a laser gun at O'Chunks.

"Next time, think twice about messing with us, 'cause we'll Bowserize you," Bowser smirked.

"And we'll leave you BEG-ging for mercy!" added Eggman and Ganondorf, and the three of them dealt the finish blow. O'Chunks let out a cry of pain as he shrunk back down to normal size. He kneeled on the floor like always when he was defeating, looking much weaker than usual.

"'Ow could yeh be chunkier than I? Yer naught but a blooming' turtle, a blasted egg, and a…well, I'm not entirely on whut the last guy is."

"A Dark Lord that is the King of all Evil!" Ganondorf shouted. "How hard is that to remember?"

"'Ow can I go on livin' with the shame o' it all?" He stood up, gently dusted himself the off, and then went back to panting heavily. "'Ey, Bowser! Let me keep me dignity as me game ends! Finish me quick!"

"Oh not again…" groaned Eggman.

"Hey, there's no shame in being smacked down by a huge, studly boss!"

Just then, the door on the left opened, and everyone else poked their heads into the room.

"Hey, it looks like Bowser won!" exclaimed Luigi.

"I heard it all through the door!" Kirby claimed. "Pretty entertaining fight!"

"I bet it didn't even last that long," huffed Amy.

"Good job to you guys all the same, however," Peach said with a smile.

"Not that we won't accept the praise, but we're in the middle of a dramatic battle finish here!" Ganondorf explained.

"Ooh! One of those "finish me off" kind of endings?" Link asked. "We'll just stand over here then-"

The ground suddenly quaked again, and everyone was definitely rattled by it. The group gathered around nervously while O'Chunks just muttered, "Uhhhhh…what's that shakin'?"

The ground shook again, and upon looking up, everyone noticed that the very ceiling was set to crash down on them! Bowser instantly panicked and started swinging his arms around in circles, others gaped, while a select few grabbed onto other for dear life, and some even screamed.

"WAAAAUGH!"

The ceiling completely fell…

…but something had stopped it from falling.

Peach stood, completely aghast, Luigi was trying to hide in his hat, Mario's expression mirror Peach's, and Bowser was ducking down as if it would prevent the ceiling from getting to him.

"Okay, this is way too close for my liking…" muttered Samus, having shrunk down into her Morph Ball.

"Think of how I feel!" complained Link, lying on the floor while covering Zelda protectively.

"Is everyone okay?" Sonic asked, being clung to by Amy.

"I think we're all fine, Sonic," Meta Knight announced.

"But why did the ceiling stop falling…" Malon wanted to know.

"HUUUUURK!"

Everyone glanced beyond Team BEG to see O'Chunks struggling to hold the ceiling above their heads.

"O'Chunks…you saved us? !" Bowser guffawed.

"What are yeh waitin' fer! Get out o' this place! O'Chunks strained to say.

"But…why'd you save us?"

"Ooh, Bowser, is that really necessary to know?" Amy asked.

"Yeah, we ARE about to get crushed here, ya know," added Kirby.

"Because yeh spanked me, 'ey! Yeh earned the right the pass. Now I'm making sure yeh do just that!"

"You got more chunks in your head than I thought!"

The ground rumbled again, making everyone even more uneasy than they already were. A few shouts rang out again, and suddenly Bowser made a bold decision.

He put his hands up and began to hold up the ceiling as well. A couple people gasped, but no one was more shocked than O'Chunks.

"Bowser? ! What're yeh doin'? !"

"That's exactly what I wanna know!" yelped Sonic, Peach, Ganondorf, Eggman, Link, and Luigi. Bowser ignored all the shouted and turned to face the team- Mario and Luigi, to be more specific.

"Hey, Super Stupid Bros.! Get the princess into the next room, NOW!"

"B-But…" Luigi trailed shakily.

"I SAID GO!"

Peach was silent for only a few seconds, but it seemed to stretch on for much longer until she finally answered. "…All right, Bowser…"

As Teams Mario, Luigi, and ZAP began to head out, with Peach looking back worryingly at Bowser before continuing, Malon suddenly turned around to Ganondorf and Eggman, who were sprawled out on the ground as well.

"Hey! Aren't you two coming? !"

They both looked at each other for a long time, but neither of them did anything until Ganondorf started to stand up and hold the ceiling as well.

"If Bowser's staying behind, then so am I, I guess. He might be an idiot, but at least he knows what he's doing…some of the time…"

"And what kind of person would I be if I didn't stay with my team as well…" trailed Eggman, helping to held the ceiling as well. "We'll hold it up, just get out of here, Malon!"

"Today would be nice!" called Bowser.

"We can't exactly do this forever!" added Ganondorf. "Man, of all the stupid things I've done…"

"Hey, we're in this together!" Bowser said in a stern tone, now slightly struggling to keep the ceiling in check. Malon hesitantly glanced over her shoulder before running through the next door. Now that they were gone, Bowser glanced over at O'Chunks. "You get out of here, too! Don't worry about me. I could hold this thing up all day!"

"Yeah, get out of here so we won't have done this for nothing!" Ganondorf grunted.

"'Ey! Yeh stole me line!" squawked O'Chunks. "Yer hands are quiverin' like a ladle of of mum's lard gravy. Don't be the tough guys! Go!"

"Why can't we all just go?" Eggman asked meekly.

"Quiet, Egghead! I AM a tough guy! He needs to go!" Bowser yelled.

"No, yeh get out!"

"No, YOU!"

"What's wrong with my suggestion? !" complained Eggman. "It's looking like the best solution right about now!"

"HUUUUURG!"

And within that moment, all four of them realized something bad was about to happen.

. . .

Malon came flying out of the door and landed right in Luigi's arms, quaking like a leaf. The rest of the group was staring at the door, waiting for Team BEG, O' Chunks, or even all of them to emerge.

"What took you so long- you had me thinking something happened!" Luigi exclaimed.

"And why didn't Ganondorf and Eggman follow with the rest of us?" asked Samus.

"They wanted to stay and help Bowser…" Malon trailed. "I tried to make them come, but they told me to run…"

"Oh, dear…" moaned Peach softly.

Instead of one of the villains, a loud thud emerged from the door instead. Its loud boom made everyone stop on a dime, and it was almost like no one was breathing.

"Uh…Bowser…?" Luigi trailed meekly, glancing at the door again.

"Oh, don't tell me…" Zelda gulped, gripping Link's arm.

Luigi let go of Malon and trotted over to the door, trying to open it. After several unsuccessful attempts, Luigi turned back to everyone else.

"The door…it won't budge!"

"Oh, no…" gasped Tippi softly.

"Oh…dear…" Peach moaned, leaning on Mario for support.

"Aw, man…" Knuckles breathed, staring at the ground.

"They…They saved us…" Link managed to gasp out.

"Whether or not they did it intentionally for us, they did save us…" Meta Knight agreed.

"Wha…what do we…" Amy trembled, not sure of what she wanted to say. The castle trembled once again, for a long, and when it finally stopped, Peach broke the silence.

"We…we don't have time…" she said painfully. "We must keep going…"

"Are you sure? Princess…" Tippi trailed unsurely.

"I'm not worried about Bowser. He isn't easy to get rid of…"

"Oh boy, she's right about that!" Luigi agreed. "Bowser has survived worse!"

"Y-Yeah…Ganondorf's been pretty resilient as well…" Malon pointed out.

"Ain't that the truth," groaned Link and Zelda.

"And Eggman's just one egg that'll never crack," Sonic added, arms folded.

Peach managed a smile, which was just enough to raise everyone's spirits even slightly. "All right, let's move on to Count Bleck!"

Mario: Okay!

As everyone bitter sweetly headed for the Star Block that was located in the very same room, Tails stood off to the side, pressing the "Call" button on his watch. He slowly brought it up and whispered into it.

"Eggman? Do you read me? Bowser? Ganondorf? Do any of you read me…?"

Tails never received a response.

Downcast, Tails gave up and hung up, trudging after the rest of the team…if they believed Team BEG was okay, then they probably were…

…but he would feel better if they would answer him…

. . .

An endless labyrinth of mind-boggling turns and deadly enemies…This final journey was more dangerous and trying than our heroes had seen before. Mario and friends kept on without Team BEG, who were lost in a duel. There was no time to stop and search for the team, or even grieve…Our heroes knew they had to rush toward the final encounter with Count Bleck.

* * *

**There's so many way I could have gone with this...I think it all works out in the end though. ^^**

**Oh yeah. *ahem* NOOOO! NOT THE VILLAINS! My third favorite team! D:**


	53. A Series of Mistrusting Events

Super Paper Mario X

Chapter 53: A Series of Mistrusting Events

The castle experienced another rumble, much to the distain of the heroes. They were still trying to move past the loss of Bowser, Eggman, and Ganondorf, but the shaking was a constant reminder of what had been sacrificed.

"Another tremor…I've lost count of them all!" cried Luigi.

"It is strange…I mean, this is Count Bleck's private castle, right? So why would he let the destruction ravage his own home?" Peach wondered.

"Sniff…Bowser questioned the same thing…" Kirby sniffled.

"But…what sort of evil plan is it if he destroys himself in the process?" Zelda pondered.

Mario looked thoughtful as Tippi floated away from the group, becoming lost in her own thoughts.

"Blumiere…so it really is you…"

Mario snapped out of his own thoughts and trotted up to her, looking curious. She became aware of his presence and simply sighed.

"Ahem, uhhh…Let's just keep moving. We need to find Count Bleck soon…"

Mario: Yeah!

"That's about all we can do…" Samus trailed as she started to head off.

The mood was sullen yet determined as they traversed the Foyer of the castle, wiping out the next generation of monsters in their path. Their first foes they encountered were Zoing-Oings, silver-grey Boing-Oings. Zelda put them all to sleep with the sound of her lullaby, helped out by Piccolo, while Amy used Cudge to take out a Cursya.

"All these pale enemies are making me uneasy," Peach complained as Tails attacked a white Boomboxer.

"Count Bleck apparently despises rainbows," Link shrugged.

"Excuse me?" Tippi coughed, quickly fluttering next to Link. Link did a double take and nervously scratched his head.

"Er…sorry Tipps…"

Tippi gave a flustered sigh before returning to Peach's side, who was following Mario through the door on the other side.

. . .

"Oh ho ho!"

"Eggman's back? !"

"I'm pretty sure that wasn't Eggman…"

"Yeah, that laugh would've lasted a lot longer if it was!"

"You've finally arrived," the man smirked, only for closer inspection to be revealed as Merlon. Bewilderment clouded the gang as they approached the wizard.

"…Merlon? What are you doing here?" Tippi asked.

"And why are you standing next to such a conspicuously placed blue ! Block?" Kirby wanted to know.

"I sense a trap…" Sonic murmured under his breath.

"I found a fascinating passage in the Light Prognosticus, so I rushed here to tell you! To get to Count Bleck, it seems you must hit this totally unsuspicious block! So why don't you give it a jolly old whack?"

Mario: Hah?

"Why, what seems to be the problem, heroes? Better get to bashing that block!"

"Let me get this straight…" Zelda began.

"You read something in a book…" Link trailed.

"…and rushed into a castle in a void…" added Meta Knight.

"Just to tell us…" continued Peach.

"That we needed to hit a block?" finished Luigi.

"Dude, we probably would've hit it anyway!" cried Knuckles. "The mere fact you're here to tell us to hit it makes me think that we shouldn't hit it!"

"Plus the fact he said "totally"- I mean, how weird is that?" Amy questioned.

"I don't want to hit the block either," Samus started. "But we can't go forward because the door ahead of us is locked…"

"Urgent bashing is required! You must believe me!"

"At this rate the only thing that'll be bashed will be you!" Malon exasperated.

"I can't believe we're debating over whether or not to hit a block," scoffed Zelda.

"Maybe if we hit the block the key will appear?" Tails weakly suggested.

"Nuh-uh! Nothing good can come out of this!" Sonic declared.

"Well we're apparently hitting it anyway!" Kirby called, jumping up and giving the block a jolly old whack before anyone could stop him.

"Tee hee, what a bunch of…"

"GAH!" "FALLING DOWN A HOLE!" "CURSE YOU, MERLOOOOOON!"

Merlon transformed into Mimi, snickering evilly to herself.

"SUCKERS!"

. . .

The group landed in what seemed to be a cell of some type, which infuriated everyone.

"Well, that was…predictable," Peach muttered.

"And our only means of escape is on the other side of the bars that we can't get to! NO!" Kirby wailed dramatically.

"You're the one that hit the block!" exclaimed Zelda, throwing her hands up.

"I guess we're stuck here now," Knuckles shrugged as Amy ran a cup along the bars while Meta Knight played a harmonica.

"Calm down, everyone!" Link shouted. "There's a crack on the wall over there- that can't possibly mean anything!"

He placed Boomer in front of said crack, blasting a hole in the wall. Following that, Team Mario took control, escaped through the hole, and returned to 2D on the other side.

"Well that's one way to break out of a jail," Malon decided. "Now we just go through the pipe, right?"

"I dunno, look up there," Tails stated, pointing at the ceiling. Next to the pipe were three other place where a pipe could possibly extend from. That, plus the fact there was a door to their left, proved that the pipe probably wasn't going to lead to their freedom.

"You think it's like Creep Steeple when we had to move the stairs?" Link asked.

Sonic shivered. "Ooh man, such bad memories…such horrifying, embarrassing memories…"

"I know. I can't believe I reminded myself."

"I thought it was cool," Kirby shrugged, receiving glares from Sonic and Link as they all piled through the door.

. . .

The room they entered was filled with spinning fire, which quick maneuvering managed to get them through. The spinning fire was not their main problem, however.

"Red Magiblots?" Zelda questioned as she protected herself against a magic onslaught.

"They're more powerful than the Blue Magiblots, but easier to defeat…" Tippi explained.

"With that kind of power, it's like they don't even need high HP!" Samus announced, managing to hit two of them spot on, first try. As she took care of the rest of them that were lurking about, the gang made it to the other side of the room where a single red ! Block was located.

"How many times do you think we should hit it?" Kirby asked.

"Why hit it more than once?" Luigi asked.

"If this does what we think it does, then it might take more than one hit to get the pipe where it needs to go," explained Sonic.

"And you do know that there's another door to the right of the cell too?" Meta Knight questioned.

Peach raised an eyebrow. "How do you know that?"

"I saw it before we came in here."

"And that one probably contains another block that moves the pipe in the opposite direction," Link deduced.

"But we apparently don't know how many times we're supposed to hit either block…" Tails trailed.

"Grah, this is taking too long!" Knuckles yelled. He made his way up to the block, bashed it twice, then made his way back out the door. "Trial and error, people!"

"He certainly is a…different one, isn't he?" Tippi pondered.

"You don't even know the half of it."

. . .

Returning back to the room with the cell, the group discovered the pipe had move two places to the left- now on the far left side. It was just as they had predicted. Now the only thing to check was that they were about the go the right way…Mario was boldly the first one to enter the pipe and allowed them to get on out of there.

. . .

"It still makes me think…" Peach thought aloud. "That locked door…how are we supposed to get back to that room?"

"Well, we don't even have a key, so there's no need to worry about that," Zelda pointed out.

"Ah, we don't have a key, yet," Amy added, grinning lightly. She kicked open a chest next to them, retrieving a… Courage Shell. Making a face, she opened the next one and produced a key that spun around on her finger.

"Great! Now, how do we get back to the room that that traitor Merlon was in?" Kirby wondered.

"I really don't think that was Merlon…" sighed Tippi.

"No matter who it was, we'll probably find some way to get back there, so don't sweat it," Sonic said, opening the last chest and claiming a Life Shroom. Without any way to go, Mario flipped into 3D and located a hole in the floor. Dropping down, they discovered instantly that it was the room with the locked door.

"…We question things way too much."

"Agreed."

. . .

In the next room, the gang encountered Gloombas, and considering they lacked the team needed for a quick dispatch, they sent out Knuckles, Samus, and Zelda instead. Knuckles punched, Samus blasted, and Zelda finished them all of with a deadly round Din's Fire.

"Is anyone else annoyed by the random rooms with stairs and wimps for enemies?" Link asked, hacking at a Hammer Bro.

"Yeah, we could've designed a better fortress than this!" added Sonic.

"With lasers!" added Tails.

"And missiles," said Samus.

"And…well, I was going to say something about tacos, but it doesn't really fit," Kirby shrugged.

"Oh, stop fantasizing and let's go," Zelda stated, already reaching the first door of the room. She looked at it cautiously, then glanced over her shoulder. "Shall we check it out?"

Luigi shrugged. "Well, why not?"

"Because it could be another trap?" Knuckles pointed out.

"Yeah, we could walk in and instantly fall down a deep, dark, bottomless pit!" Kirby exclaimed.

"Kirby, you have got to remember to watch what you say around Luigi…" Peach groaned, eyeing the green plumber suddenly beginning to look a bit uneasy.

"N-No, I-I'm fine, Peach…there's no bad thoughts swimming around in my head, honest!"

Mario gave his brother an unsure look as he followed Zelda into the door.

. . .

The group was greeted by three Cursyas: the yellow, green, and red ones. Samus got rid of the yellow, Meta Knight defeated the green, and Amy took care of the red one, no problem.

"Ooh, you guys make me nervous…" Peach admitted. "One of these times you'll accidentally touch one and get cursed!"

"No worries, Peach!" Zelda assured. "With Piccolo, I can use her music to cure curses!"

"It's true!" Piccolo chirped while she flew around happily at the sound of being acknowledged.

"So I could punch one and you'd be able to cure me?" Knuckles asked. Piccolo nodded.

"But of course!"

"Piccolo, huh?" Malon asked, stepping up to the Pixl. "What can you do, again?"

"She takes the music in your soul and brings it to life, according to her," Link explained.

Piccolo floated above Malon, then played a soft song with several chirps and tweets scattered here and there. Malon smiled, then pulled out her flute and managed to mimic the exact same song. When the tune was complete, the area suddenly lit up in a bright light.

"Whoa, the…Song of Light? !" Malon questioned.

"If that's what you want to call it!" Piccolo exclaimed. "Nice playing, by the way!"

"Too bad there's not much use for that song, now…" Tails trailed.

"Ha, never assume things like that, Tails," Samus said.

"Yeah, because when people usually say things like that, reverse-psychology happens," Amy pointed out.

"Wh-what? No, I was just-"

"Yo guys!" Sonic called, walked up to them while waving a can in the air. "While you were having a concert, I found this can of Ultra Shroom Shake! Nothing else is here, though, so we can go."

"Ugh, you should've left that behind, even if it can heal HP!" Link said disgustedly as Luigi took it from Sonic.

"You don't know what you're talking about- you haven't even tried it!"

"Tried a regular Shroom Shake, and I'm never going to make that mistake again!"

As Link and Luigi debated over the value of a Shroom Shake, the gang returned to the previous room, with Malon staring at her flute with a perplexed look on her face.

. . .

Descending up to the next floor of the room, Mario kicked the shell of a red Koopa Troopa, Knuckles defeated a few Fire Bros., and Zelda helped out once again by dispatching two pacing Koopas at the top. With the way clear, the gang entered the next room.

. . .

"Shroom! SHROOM!"

"Link, no!"

"Haven't we learned not to trust hanging Mushrooms from Merlee's Mansion? !"

Link continued to charge at the conspicuous Mushroom hanging down from the ceiling, only to be stopped by Mario who tackled him to the ground before he grabbed it. It was plainly a trap, and who knew what would happen to them this time? !

"C'mon, just one bite? ! The shake can never replace the original!"

"Not when that piece of fungus is hanging from a string, thank you," Zelda huffed.

"That's not the only one in here either!" Tails cried, pointing forward at several other Shrooms scattered throughout the room, all somehow attached to white string. Mario slightly shuddered.

"I've got a bad feeling about this…" Peach murmured as Zelda and Malon tried to prevent Link from touching any of the Shrooms.

"Do you think Mimi is behind this?" Amy asked, jumping over a Shroom. "These are the same traps she used back in Merlee's Mansion…"

Peach just gave a nod. "That's exactly what I'm worried about…"

"It might've been her that was "Merlon", now that I think about it," Sonic pondered.

"Guess we can't trust anyone anymore then," Meta Knight stated quietly.

"ACK! Any one of you could be her, even…" Kirby pointed dramatically at the fourth wall. "YOU!"

"Kirby, if Mimi was Merlon like we suspect, then none of us could be her since we all fell for the same trap," Zelda pointed out.

"…I so knew that! I was just testing you!"

"Aw man, guys…" Knuckles groaned. "Another locked door…"

"This place practically forces us to fall for the traps!" complained Link.

"So I guess that through one of these Mushrooms is the area that holds the key…" Samus trailed. Malon looked around nervously and sighed.

"Okay Link, go and get yourself a Shroom-"

"YEAH!"

Malon released her grip on Link, the swordsman running for the Shroom that was closest to the door. He ate the delicacy in one bite, causing the floor beneath him to cave in and send him plummeting. Before the trap closed up again, the gang was right behind him.

. . .

"AAAAAND…there's nothing in here," grunted Knuckles.

"When in doubt, flip about!"

"…we need some sort of tune to accompany that."

"Yeah! Something 8-bit!"

"Or just a dramatic guitar."

Anyway, Team Mario flipped into 3D, where a single enemy was floating up against the wall. It was a gray-version of the cloning enemies that they had encountered before, and it was looking a lot tougher.

"I've got this one, guys," Samus assured, taking aim at the foe. However, as soon as she shot a missile, it cloned itself and she ended up hitting the wrong one. Furious, she started blasting every which way, but the enemy was cloning faster than she could shoot, which was saying something.

"Let the speed demon handle this, Sam," Sonic offered, curling up and throwing himself at the cloud of gray foe. He took out all of them, unfortunately the real one being the one that was defeated last. The good news was that it dropped a key, and a pipe appeared to take them back up.

**Room Beyond the Once Locked Door-**

"Remember, stay cautious…" Amy trailed as they stalked down the next hallway. Almost instantly, however, they ran into another familiar face.

"How magnificent, you have arrived! I saw in the stars you would survive…"

"Who is that?" Tails asked innocently.

"Merlee," Sonic replied quickly.

"An old friend," added Amy.

"Who hopefully is still our friend…" Peach trailed as Mario eyed Merlee suspiciously.

"I think we should just keep walking…" Link said in a strained whisper.

"Heroes, do not flee! For I am the lovely and mysterious Merlee! My beauty and the stars led you here. Rest now, for you have nothing to fear."

"Nah, the sky is eating up everything and we really ought to go stop it."

"Ummm…are you really Merlee?"

"Way to be straightforward, Tippi."

"Well, there's no point in beating around the bush…"

Merlee just laughed. "Whatever is it that you imply? How could anyone wonder if it is I?"

"Because you've been copied before?"

"Look at this lovely aura glow, does it not tell you all you need to know?" she stopped chuckling and put on a more serious look. "Ahhh…I will now ask you questions three; the answers will hold your future's key. And you must answer each and every question honestly and fairly! Here we go! Time to start the show!"

"Oh great…"

"Which one of these beasts is hardest for you to make deceased? A Goomba, a Clubba, or an Ultra Shroom?"

"An Ultra Shroom isn't a beast!"

"That's not the point," Peach stated. "I get the feeling these questions are going to be used against us…"

"Yeah, we certainly have experience with that," groaned Zelda.

"So have we," added Sonic.

"Sooo…what're we going to answer?" Luigi asked. "I'm tempted to say Clubba…"

"Dude, I wanna say Goomba so I can pwn it!" Knuckles exclaimed.

"Ultra Shroom! Ultra Shroom!" chanted Link. Merlee seemed to accept that answer and nodded.

"Hee hee…so that one there gives you the biggest scare?"

"Oh yeah, those Ultra Shrooms DEFINITELY give me nightmares."

"Especially in the form of Zombie Shrooms!"

"Next, which one of these fearsome three most rattles you knees? Fuzzies, Hammer Bros., or a Thunder Rage?"

"Fuzzies!" Malon suddenly cried, and everyone gave her a look.

"Malon! We could've gotten a free Thunder Rage out of that!" Kirby complained.

"Sorry, I felt the need to tell the truth there…"

"Psh, Fuzzies? Those things are weak!" scoffed Samus. "I guess if we face some it won't be too bad."

"Not if they come in a variety of colors…" shivered Tails. "Fear the rainbow…"

"Ooookay then…"

"You are most afraid of those? Hee hee, that's good to know…now which of these do you despise like fleas? An Amazy Dayzee, Francis, or a Cooking Mistake?"

"I don't know, all of those are literally terrifying!"

"What's wrong with the Cooking Mistake?" questioned Luigi.

"Yeah, it can't be any worse than that psychotic nerd!" exclaimed Zelda.

"Or an Amazy Dayzee…" gulped Sonic. "Those are scary…"

"Have any of you even tasted a Cooking Mistake? !" Link asked. "I didn't think so!"

"I'd rather have a plate of bad food than face a geeky reptile or a sparkly golden flower. Cooking Mistake!"

As Link cried out in agony, Merlee took note of all they had said. "That is what makes you very furious? Indeed, how very curious…Well, it's been marvelous fun, but I'm afraid out time together is quite done…But do not fear or fret! No! We shall meet again yet! Hee hee hee hee hee!"

And she scurried off, leaving the heroes in a confused and slightly unsettled daze.

. . .

In the next room, Mario wasn't at all surprised to see an Ultra Shroom waiting for them. Link nabbed it instantly while the rest of the group frowned.

"Crud, we'll have to suffer Fuzzies in the next room…" groaned Peach.

"Ooh, this should be fun…" Knuckles muttered under his breath.

"C'mon, how bad can it be?" Kirby asked.

. ..

"MEEEEEORK-ORK-ORK-ORK!"

"Apparently it can be very bad."

Not just a black Fuzzy, but Red, Gold, Green, Blue, Purple, Pink, Silver, White, and Light Green Fuzzies were right there along with it. They were grinning sinisterly, and Team Luigi for whatever reason was huddled together.

"Didja miss us, meeork?" cackled the Black Fuzzy.

"It's the Rainbow Fuzzy Brigade!" squawked Team Luigi.

"You know them?" Zelda questioned.

"They followed us all over the Waffle Kingdom just to get revenge on Luigi for stepping on Black," Malon explained.

"They also have the ability to transform into a Mary-Sue!" cried Knuckles.

Sonic whistled. "Yikes."

"Plus they owe me at least enough to pay off Torque's kart!" added Luigi, shaking a fist.

"Why's that?"

"Because they decided to write books based off of our adventures-"

"Oooh…so I shouldn't have bought all five of the Super Luigi books just for kicks?" Link asked nervously.

"YOU DID WHAT?"

"All of you, shut up!" shouted the Light Green Fuzzy, also known as the Hyper Fuzzy. "Da boss is trying to talk!"

"Yeah, the only reason we're here is because we were summoned to receive our chance at revenge!" Black bellowed. "Enough small talk, let's get to the beating!"

"If you think you're going to win, you're sadly mistaken," Luigi said. "Especially since my team could take you down all by ourselves, we've got Team Mario and Team ZAP with us this time, so we're guaranteed a win!"

"What do you have to say about that?" Tails questioned, striking a threatening pose.

"I'll have to say…Purple Fuzzy, TRANSFORM US!"

"Crud," Meta Knight grunted as everyone else watched as the Rainbow Fuzzy Brigade mesh into one, large, gray Fuzzy. The heroes all gaped as they were now in the presence of the Atomic Fuzzy.

"Oh jeez…what did they just turn into? !" gawked Sonic.

"One huge Fuzzy with the powers of all of them," Knuckles explained quickly before charging at it.

"But they have Fuzzies that we've never even seen before!" cried Kirby, pulling out his Final Cutter and running at it as well.

"Yeah, there's ones we've never even heard of!" Zelda added as she put up Nayru's Love to defend against a sudden strike of lightning. "What are we to expect?"

"Well, the White Fuzzy's power is the lightning," Tippi said after Peach used her power.

"And there's more where that came from!" Black's voice shouted from the Atomic Fuzzy as it teleported away, causing Sonic and Malon to crash into each other as they went in to attack.

"Teleportation is the Purple Fuzzy's other power," Meta Knight recalled as he hacked into it when it reappeared again. His barrage was cut short when he was struck by lightning as well and blasted a small distance away. The Atomic Fuzzy noticed that Amy wasn't doing anything in particular and lunged at her, biting her in the shoulder and sapping much of her HP, thanks to Red Fuzzy's ability.

"YOW! What the heck? !" Amy complained, gripping her shoulder and glaring at the foe. She created a hammer then spun around and whacked it in the stomach.

"Since when can Fuzzies take away more than seven HP?" Sonic asked, pushing Amy out of the way of a lightning bolt.

"Red's bite is stronger than the others…" Malon pointed out.

"And the Blue Fuzzy has a tendency to attack more than once," gulped Tails.

"RAAAAWR!"

Sonic and Amy let out a yelp as Sonic grabbed her wrist and bolted, the large gray Fuzzy chugging after them. While it was distracted by trying to attack Amy again, Luigi and Samus attacked from the sides; Luigi stomping on it with a Super Jump while Samus shot mercilessly with her cannon.

"They certainly don't know how to fight very well…" she commented as she shot.

"Yeah, but they're brutal nevertheless!" replied Luigi as he returned to the ground and hunted for the next area to strike.

"You'd think this thing would go down a lot quicker…" Peach huffed, ducking in her umbrella to avoid being chewed up.

"Let me guess- the Gold Fuzzy's ability is that it has the higher HP, right?" Link asked while slicing away. "That's why this thing isn't gone yet?"

"You would be correct," Malon confirmed, shooting an arrow between the Atomic Fuzzy's eyes. It howled in pain, then teleported again and causing Tails and Kirby to collide. It reappeared behind Mario, who was apparently ready for it and jumped up, giving it a kick to the face. Unfortunately, this was a bad move, as it chomped down on Mario's leg and effortlessly tossed him to the ground.

"Allow me to bring you down to size…" Knuckles grunted, after seeing Mario get tossed around. "Hammer Punch!"

"I don't think so…" the fuzzy growled, and Knuckles suddenly found himself surrounded by a white aura before he was able to strike the ground.

"What the heck? !"

"The Silver Fuzzy's power, remember?" Meta Knight asked as he stabbed the Fuzzy, causing it to lose its grip on Knuckles. Knuckles fell to the ground and groaned.

"Oh yeah…"

It was pretty much an onslaught after that. Amy would smack the Atomic Fuzzy around with her substitute hammer, Link and Meta Knight would slash at it, Mario and Luigi would jump on it, Zelda, Sonic, Knuckles, and Kirby would all use their abilities, and Peach was left defending herself and feeling utterly helpless.

"I wish my jump was as good as Mario or Luigi's…" she sighed, watching them team up to do a brotherly blow on the cretin. "I could then at least help out that way…but I can't even get enough air to do any damage!"

She frowned and aimed Tippi at the creature, quickly finding out that its HP was nearly the bottom. As soon as she informed everyone of this, the Fuzzy shocked them all with lightning, then copied itself and snickered darkly.

"Meeeeeork-ork-ork-ork! What are you going to do NOW? !" it cackled, raining down more lighting and throwing the heroes around like they were nothing.

"Okay, that I definitely know is the Green Fuzzy's power," Samus stated, shooting a Charge Beam this time around.

"And Pink's ability is pretty useless considering we don't have any FP in this dimension," shrugged Sonic, running around it in a blue tornado and attacking with a Whirlwind.

"You wanna bet? !" Pink's voice hissed, both of the Fuzzies now biting Sonic. Sonic let out a screech as he tried to wrestle his arm out of his foes' mouth as he felt his energy, but not his health, being drained away.

"What the heck…"

Apparently it saps you of your ability to fight rather than your health…" Tails mused, attacking one of them with his wrench and screwdriver. "Fascinating…"

"Tails, this is not the time to deduce how cool the enemy's powers are!" Luigi exclaimed, delivering a blow with another Super Jump.

"Oog…I feel…weird…" Sonic trailed, stumbling all over the place. As he crashed onto the floor, both Atomic Fuzzies gained a mischievous look on their faces as they suddenly sprouted rainbow colors. Zelda looked nervous as she blasted them both back with Din's Fire.

"Erm…what's going on now?"

"Hyper used his Charge ability," stated Meta Knight as he disappeared into a golden tornado, attacking one of the Fuzzies mercilessly.

"Yup," smirked the Atomic Fuzzy that Meta Knight wasn't attacking. "Hyper's charged, and with the combined powers of Red, Blue, and White, we'll have just the edge we need!"

"Flee! FLEE!" yelped Kirby. "I can't swallow them because they're too big, but it'd be really awesome if I could!"

"They're almost out of HP, I'm sure we'll be fine," Amy stated. Luckily, Meta Knight, Zelda, Tails, and Samus took care of one Atomic Fuzzy, leaving only one to deal with. Mario decided to try and finish it off, but that's when it decided to unleash its attack.

Lightning struck down on all of them, and with the power quadrupled and having to experience it twice, it didn't leave the team in good shape, especially Sonic, who now was weak and couldn't move since his energy was drained. Mario was left when he had tried to jump, looking completely shocked at the amount of damage that had been cast upon them. Not allowing the fiend to get away with that, Mario jumped up again and stomped on its head, Malon joined in also with her Boot Bash. Knuckles struck with Deep Impact, Kirby and Link fought away with their weapons, and Zelda blew the Fuzzy away with Farore's Wind. The Fuzzy thudded against the wall, being so bamboozled that it couldn't think of what attack to use next.

"Looks like another beating for you," Luigi smirked, jumping in front of it. "How's it feel to be beaten by me again? !"

"It sucks!" Red's voice barked, the Atomic Fuzzy now using Silver's power and casting Luigi away. Luigi was quick to get back on his feet, and along with Meta Knight, Tails, Samus, and Amy, rushed at the Atomic Fuzzy. Tails stunned it with a jab of his screwdriver, Samus drove a missile into its stomach, Amy added to the pain by hitting it with her hammer, Meta Knight performed more rapid slashes, and Luigi managed to get it to separate back into nine Fuzzies with his jump.

"Heh heh heh…" Black panted, seeing all the heroes now advance upon then. "Guess we're a bit rusty on the fighting, meeork…"

"Please! You're fighting is always rusty," Malon scoffed.

"So much for payback…" grumbled Gold.

"Yeah, we should've just let our last meeting stay our last!" cried Blue.

"I wanted to BEAT THEM!" howled Hyper, causing everyone to slightly inch away nervously. Sonic, meanwhile, made his way to the ten Fuzzies and glared at them while grinning in an out of character fashion.

"Drain my energy, will ya? !"

"We were just kidding, we swear!"

"Yeah, I did it just for kicks!"

"Well you'll get a kick out of this then, won't you?" Sonic sneered, kicking Pink and sending her flying into Black. He then followed up by spin dashing the rest of the Fuzzies, making then cry out in excruciating pain and go bolting out the door that the group had entered from. Sonic received a snack item from Malon as Mario bid the Fuzzies good riddance.

"Hopefully now we'll never have to see them again," Knuckles said, wiping the sweat off his brow.

"I still didn't get my money, either," Luigi sighed, turning heel and exiting out the other door on the other side of the room.

. . .

"And as a reward for the blood, sweat, and tears we shed, we are gifted with the disastrous outcome of some confused chef."

"Just take the Cooking Mistake."

"Fine," Link grumbled, picking up the dish and putting it away for safe keeping.

"I have to say, that was some fight out there," Zelda sighed, looking a bit exhausted.

"You did pretty well, Zelda!" Tails exclaimed with a smile.

"No, I only helped a little. After all, you guys were the ones who at least knew what you were doing."

"But for not knowing what you're up against, that was pretty sweet," added Luigi. "You were getting the hang of it toward the end too, Amy!"

"Yeah after I nearly got my arm ripped off," Amy stated sheepishly. "You really think I improved though?"

Mario: Oh yeah!

"I have to agree, your ability to fight really has improved," Sonic nodded, making Amy giggle uncontrollably. Link then happily draped his arms around Zelda.

"Yup, and you always were quite the strategic fighter!"

"Oh come on now guys, you're making this bigger than it needs to be," Zelda commented, taking a few steps forward. "We all did well!"

"'Cept me," Peach muttered, walking by them all and exiting out the next door. Everyone blinked at her sudden sullen attitude, Tippi being the most surprised, as Peach had left her behind.

"Whoa, what got into her this time?" Kirby asked.

"Well, she wasn't too prominent in that fight…" Meta Knight trailed.

"Yeah, she didn't do anything!" cried Knuckles, only for all girls to hit him in the head. "OW! What? ! I'm just telling the truth! The comment wasn't even sexist or anything!"

"Oh, poor Peach…" Amy trailed.

"There's not really much she can do…" Zelda left off.

"Well, just know we appreciate you girls all the same," Link stated.

"Even when you're kidnapped, we can still rely on you and everything!" added Kirby.

"Apparently we need to get that through Peach's head," Tails said, staring at the door sadly.

"She might not be that great of a fighter, but she's the sweetest person anyone could ever ask to meet," Malon stated.

Mario frowned to himself as he led everyone through the next door after the upset princess.

. . .

"EEEEEK!"

"Was that you, Peach?"

Peach shook her head, in as much awe as the rest of the team. "No, that was Merlee…"

"What are you trying to pull? ! IM-POSS-I-BLE!" Merlee shouted, jumping up and down angrily. She didn't stay as Merlee for long, because she quickly changed back into Mimi. "I put everything you hate in there! How'd you get through all that icky stuff! ? Unless…you bad people were LYING!"

"Well…we didn't lie about the Fuzzies!" Malon laughed nervously.

"How dare you lecture us? !" Peach suddenly cried out, getting everyone to suddenly turn and stare at her. "You were just pretending to be Merlon and Merlee! Talk about a dirty trick! You should be ashamed of yourself!"

"You call yourself a master impersonator? HA!" scoffed Zelda.

"Ashamed…of myself? I like getting what I want, so I do whatever I need to do to get it. You're the ones that are always having to get rescued by boys. THAT'S embarrassing!"

"Hey! I could smack you're little head off right here and now!" Amy yelled. Mimi might as well have stuck out her tongue.

"Golly, you sure are a lot of talk when you have your little boyfriends to protect you!"

Peach, Zelda, and Amy, but mainly Peach, were fuming at this point, and Mario didn't think he was crazy for thinking that smoke was steaming out of their ears.

"Y-You…" Peach stammered, trying to contain herself. The entire group thought she was about to explode, until her expression melted into a calmer one, yet still donned a murderous outlook. "Very well. If you insist, I'll give you what you so richly deserve."

Everyone gasped. Some even nearly fainted.

"P-Princess Peach!" Luigi gaped. "You're not really going to…"

"Stay out of this!" Peach suddenly snapped, making everyone recoil. "I am a PRINCESS, and she has thrown mud at my dignity! You two teams leave me be! UNDERSTOOD? !"

"I'm scared, man…" Kirby whimpered, hiding behind Samus.

Mario and Luigi exchanged a brief glance, then nodded and started to back away slowly. Their teams followed after obediently, Zelda and Amy trying to decide on what to do. Peach turned her back to all her friends and squeezed her eyes tight.

"It's bad enough I can hardly hold my own…but I know I can do it! Just not as well as my friends…but I'm not just going to stand here and let some little girl bring me down any more than I already am!"

"Aww…the pretty widdle princess wants to face me all alone?" Mimi cooed. "Boy, it sure would be sad if your boyfriends had to cry over spilled peaches!"

"They won't have to," Zelda said coolly, waking up next to Peach and placing a hand on her shoulder. "Peach can have her chance to prove herself if she desires to do so, but there's no way Amy and I are letting her do it alone!"

"Yeah, Peach, we've got your back, always!" Amy exclaimed. Peach turned from Zelda to Amy and back again, her clenched fists slowly relaxing.

"Thanks, girls…"

Mimi just ignored the girls suddenly banding together and sang out with her high-pitched scratchy "MIMIMIMIMI!"

Peach and Amy cringed as Mimi's neck cracked, Zelda nearly lurching forward with how disgusted she felt.

"Oh my goodness, what is she doing? !"

"She's…turning into a…spider…" Amy groaned as Mimi's head started to spin.

"Ew…you think she could spare us the theatrics…"

Mimi then sprouted her six spider legs, propping herself off the ground and turning to face the trio.

"Try not to cry, or all your pretty makeup will run. Time to go bye-bye, princesses!"

"I'm not a princess though!" Amy cried as the battle began. Mimi rushed past the girls and climbed up onto the ceiling, ready to attack them from above. Zelda was slightly at a loss of what to do, considering she had never battled Mimi in this form, but Amy and Peach were prepared.

"If she drops her Rubees, how are we going to counter?" Amy asked, curling up into a ball. "We don't have Thoreau!"

"Yes you do!" Thoreau chirped, floating next to Tippi. Peach blinked.

"When'd you get here?"

"Mario figured you'd need me, so he left me to your care!"

Peach smiled as she grabbed the hand shaped Pixl, turning back to face Mimi. "That was nice of him…"

"Can someone help me? !" Zelda exclaimed, surrounding herself in Nayru's Love as Rubees constantly rained down on her head. Peach was quick to jump into action, lightly pushing Zelda out of the way and grabbing the next Rubee. She moved fast, jumping back up and jabbing the Rubee into Mimi's tiny torso. Mimi struggled to stay on the ceiling, her legs quickly tumbling off and causing her to fall in a heap back on the floor. Amy rushed in with Cudge, bonking Mimi on the head and snapping off the first of her legs.

"Okay, this is the part where she returns to the ceiling," Peach said as she helped Zelda up off the ground. Mimi just cackled as she suspended herself in midair, two of her legs forming into a perfect line above her, while the other three made a perfect line below her.

"That's where you're wrong!" she hissed, her legs attaching to the ceiling and the floor as four Rubees protruded from the sides of her square head. Peach cringed and ducked into her umbrella instantly while Amy squawked," That's a new one!"

Mimi moved to and fro around the room, also bounding up and down in an attempt to hit the girls. She completely missed Amy, but didn't do any damage to Peach and Zelda since they were protected. Irritated, she returned her legs back to normal and prepared to return to the ceiling, but Peach was quick to jump on her head before she even got that far. Zelda helped out using Farore's Wind to hover over her, then crashed down on her head and snap off another leg.

"NYEAH!"

Mimi finally made it back to the ceiling as Peach and Zelda exchanged a high five. They then started to chase after Mimi, trying to get her to launch another Rubee. Amy meanwhile, slightly frowned.

"I wish my hammer wasn't broken…then I'd be able to do a lot more with my attacks…"

Cudge, in a state of surprise, suddenly perked up." What's that? You have a broken hammer?"

"Yeah…" Amy produced the two halves of her split hammer. "It happened right before I found you, Cudge…"

"Why didn't you tell me this sooner? !"

Amy blinked. "Why would I need to?"

Cudge winked at Amy, then started to fly around her hammer, sparkles trailing behind him. Amy watched with wide eyes, then broke out into a grin when she saw that Cudge had fixed her hammer.

"YAY!" Amy instantly took a tight grip on the handle and began to swing it like crazy. "Thank you so much Cudge!"

"It was nothing, don't worry about it!"

Amy twirled it over her head, then glanced at Cudge again. "But…what am I going to do with you, now? I have a hammer again, and I-"

Cudge looked proud of himself, even going as far as to strike a pose. "I can increase your hammer's attack, then!"

"Really? !" she squealed, sneaking a look at Mimi. "Well, let's test it out!"

Peach finally managed to snag a Rubee, then tossed it up and struck Mimi directly in the head. She stumbled off the ceiling once more, Zelda bombarding her with Din's Fire when the time was right. Amy, letting out a battle cry as she did so, jumped up and smacked Mimi in the head with her fixed hammer, now with twice the damage!

"All right!" she cheered as Mimi's third leg was detached. Peach and Zelda gave a nod of approval as Mimi stuck her legs to the ceiling and the floor again, returning back to pinwheel mode. Team ZAP put up their defenses quickly, rendering Mimi unable to hurt them.

"That's not fair!" Mimi howled, returning her legs back to the floor.

"After all that you've done to us, I think it's rightly fair," Zelda huffed, blowing her into the wall with Farore's Wind.

"We can see that your fighting hasn't improved much either," Peach added, bound up and kicking Mimi in the head. "At least Zelda and Amy have gotten better, what'll make defeating you even easier!"

"Hey, you've gotten better too Peach," Amy protested as Mimi, now with only two legs left, rushed to the other side of the room and summoned a wave of Rubees. The trio of girls quickly defended against the attack, Peach pulling out of her umbrella and glanced at Amy.

"Just how have I improved?" she questioned, dodging another Rubee Mimi launched at her.

"Well, you pack quite a punch when you want to," Amy stated with a small shrug.

"And you may not even realize it, but you're very strategic when you battle," Zelda added with a smirk. "It even impresses me!"

Mimi returned to the ceiling, grumbling to herself, Peach just staring unsurely at the wall. Zelda rolled away from an oncoming Rubee while Amy tried to smack the gems right back at Mimi. The princess eventually shook her head and sighed.

"But…I-"

"Listen Peach!" Zelda said fiercely, now suddenly standing next to Peach and holding her against the wall. "If anyone in this entire group has changed, it's you! You went from such a shy and confused girl to a strong and courageous leader. So what if you're not as strong as some of the rest of us- that's not who you were meant to be!"

"Then what am I supposed to do? I feel like I'm just standing on the sidelines or getting in the way!"

"You're tough, Peach, remember that. But what people see in you the most is not your strength, but your support. You're always there for everyone! Sometimes just knowing that someone out there is cheering them on makes a person more willing to do what is right." Zelda paused to take a small breath; Peach just blinked. "And sometimes, Peach…I believe that you're a much better princess than I am."

Peach's words got caught in her throat and nearly made her cough from the surprise. Before she could untangle her sentence, however, a Rubee suddenly whizzed over their head and lodged itself into the wall, just above Peach's crown. The two glanced over to see that there was still a fight going on.

"Uh…not to spoil your moment, but I'd like some help in crushing this demonic spider that's preventing us from stopping a black hole," Amy said sweetly, running away from Mimi with Cudge chattering incoherent things behind her.

"We'll be right there Amy!" Peach called, whipping out Thoreau and giving him a toss. He grabbed a Rubee out of midair, then tossed it at Mimi. It knocked her off of the ceiling, but before any of the girls could deal a blow, she stretched her legs out into a thin line and went into "deathly pinwheel" formation. The trio upped their defenses, and when Mimi stopped, Peach was there in a flash to clonk her into the head. Now stunned, Amy rushed in and smote Mimi in the face with her hammer. The fifth leg snapped off, and only one more remained.

"We can finish her off now, no problem," Zelda said mischievously, holding up her hands as they brimmed with flames. "DIN'S FIRE!"

"CRUD!" Mimi shrieked, suffering from the fire. After the scorching was over and the flames resigned, she sent out another wave of Rubees that Zelda jumped over and Amy and Peach defended against. Zelda acted quickly and used Farore's Wind to blow Mimi into the wall, stunning her briefly. Amy uncurled herself and threw her hammer, hitting Mimi just as she pulled herself together.

"Go Peach, go!" Zelda and Amy cried, joining hands as Peach ran at them. The princess gave a small hop, landed in their cupped palms, and was given a boost in her jump, aimed to land on Mimi.

"No one trashes my dignity," Peach muttered under her breath as she came crashing down. "Maybe…Zelda's right…"

Mimi's last leg snapped off, causing the psychotic little girl to fall in the middle of the room. Zelda, Amy, Tippi, Cudge, and Piccolo congratulating her quickly.

"I don't…get it…" Mimi gasped on the ground. "I got beat by a…princess? WAAAAH!"

"Don't worry, you didn't have much of a reputation to tarnish anyway," Zelda shrugged. Mimi returned back to normal, though exhausted, and glared at Team ZAP.

"You…"

Mimi fell to the ground, Peach looking much chipper than before. "Oh, what's the matter, little girl? Did I spank Mimi a little too hard?"

"You did it, Princess!" Luigi cried as the other two teams returned.

"There really was no reason to doubt yourself," Link pointed out with a smile.

"You always had it in you, I knew it!' cheered Malon.

"Eh, good job, Princess," Samus smirked.

Peach beamed. "Couldn't have done it without Zelda and Amy, naturally."

"We just helped," Amy shrugged. "Plus Cudge fixed my hammer! See?"

"Oh great…" Sonic groaned.

The ground shook once again, reminding the teams about just what they had come here for. Tippi was, of course, the one to bring this to everyone else's attention.

"The destruction is spreading…if we dawdle any more, we're doomed!"

"You're right," Peach agreed. "Let's go!"

"Please," Knuckles moaned, following Luigi out the next door. Everyone left except Team ZAP, all three of them glancing over their shoulders at a weakened Mimi.

"Mimi…you can't stay here," Peach said quietly. "Go find somewhere safe."

"Yeah, right," the girl huffed, crawling around to face the group. "Like you care!"

"Well, don't say we didn't warn you," Zelda huffed.

Suddenly, the ground quaked more violently than before, and Amy let out an "AAAAAAH!"

**Outside the Following Door-**

Teams Mario and Luigi were safely on the other side, and it wasn't until the loud boom sounded out that they turned around.

"What was that loud noise?" Tippi questioned, glancing back at the door.

"It can't be anything good…" Meta Knight said ominously. Luigi put on a confused look and raised an eyebrow.

"Eh…Princess?"

"Zelda?" Malon asked.

"Amy…?" trailed Sonic.

"They're…not here? !" Link exclaimed.

"Doesn't look like it, Champ," Knuckles huffed, a bit of a quiver evident in his voice.

Luigi ran over to the door and jiggled the knob; his face went white.

"It…it won't open!" he trembled.

Mario: O.O

"Oh no!" Tippi shrieked.

"Not Amy, NO!" yelled Cudge.

"Oh, this is disheartening…" Piccolo sobbed lightly. Meanwhile, Link went into a frenzy and threw himself against the door, shouting, "ZELDA!"

. . .

"Hmmmmmph!"

Zelda and Amy, who were hanging onto each other for dear life, dared to crack open on of their eyes. There was no sign of Peach, or Mimi, but they could hear them both. Taking a quick scan of the room, they glanced down and saw Peach gripping the edge of the floor where it had caved in.

Dangling from her other arm was Mimi.

"You silly princess, what are you DOING? !" Mimi spat.

"What…what AM I doing? I just leapt into action without even thinking…"

"I don't want your stupid help!" Mimi cried once again. "Just…just leave me alone."

"Yeah, Peach, let her drop so you can save yourself!" Amy exclaimed. Zelda gave her a sideways look. "What?"

"No, I…can't do that," Peach strained to say. "You have been very, very bad, but I can't leave you here to die. I don't know how you were raised, but I was taught to help people in need!"

"Peach…"

"I've g-got you…"

The ground rumbled again, and Peach's grip on the edge of the floor slipped. She felt herself begin to drop, only for her to come to an abrupt stop.

"What the…"

"Don't worry, I've got you!" Amy assured, struggling to hold up both Peach and Mimi. Peach dared to open her eyes and just gaped.

"Amy! You and Zelda get out of here, now!"

"And let you fall? No way!"

"I don't want any more people to suffer than necessary…"

The ground shook again, and Amy felt the weight of the two girls take their toll, inching Amy closer and closer to the edge. Another abrupt quake sent Amy lunging forward, and the three of them were ready for death.

"C-Crud…" Zelda trailed, now gripping the edge of Amy's boot. "You've gotta be kidding me…"

"Zelda…go save yourself!" Peach shouted. "It's already…bad enough…"

"N-Never," Zelda stammered, though her own grip was slowly loosening. "Like I said, Peach, you're a much better princess than I am…"

"Zelda…if you go down too, think of how heartbroken Link will feel!" Amy yelped, being upside down, like Mimi.

Zelda hesitated slightly, grimacing, but still held on. "He would do the same for his friends, I know that for sure. You know about how many times he's tried to save Sonic?"

"…Y-Yeah…"

"I wish it didn't have to be like this…" Peach sniffled.

"Yeah, me too," grunted Mimi.

Once more, the floor beneath them trembled violently, and Zelda lost her footing. The four of them went plummeting into the abyss, their fate left to be determined.

"EEEEEK!"

. . .

Mario was comforting Link next to the door, with all ten of the remaining heroes staring at it, hoping with all their might that Peach, Zelda, and Amy would emerge out of other side. But they never came. Mario shook his head to confirm this.

"The whole castle shook! And now that door won't open?" Tippi whimpered.

Mario: Yeah.

"First Team BEG, and now Team ZAP…" Luigi murmured softly. "W-W-What do we do, Bro.? !"

Mario looked thoughtful as Tippi spoke up again.

"We have to keep going," she said, her voice a bit duller than usual. Mario shook his head furiously, the teams cried out in protest, and Luigi practically started to babble.

"B-but…we can't leave the princess! Or any of them!"

"Peach would've wanted to stay behind to look for you, Tippi," Kirby said, his lower lip protruding in a pout.

"I…I can't leave her again…" Link sniffled quietly, still leaning against the door.

"I know it's horrible, but this is, well, the end of the world…of all worlds, really. We must press on. Princess Peach would want it this way if she were here."

"It would be in their nature to yell at us for not doing anything…" Samus grumbled under her breath.

"Well, yeah, I guess that is a Princess Peach thing to say," muttered Luigi.

"And a Princess Zelda thing, definitely," Malon agreed.

"Not entirely sure about Amy, though…" Sonic trailed. "Though, I guess she definitely wouldn't want us to just stand around."

"I also wouldn't want their leaving us to be in vain," added Meta Knight. "If we managed to save the worlds, then they will not have to pass with any regrets."

"I'm worried about them, but they'd probably be mad at us for wasting time…" Luigi continued.

"Link, are you okay?" Knuckles asked, still watching the swordsman slumped on the floor. Link sniffed again, then nodded.

"I'll be okay…I just…I bet I could've prevented this…"

"I bet they're okay," Tails assured with a light smile. "Maybe the tremor just locked the door and they can't get to us?"

"Maybe…" Link got back to his feet and continued forward. "But it hurts so much…"

"Understood," Sonic stated, patting Link on the back. The teams slowly made their way forward, Luigi walking up to Mario. The red plumber looked conflicted rather than upset.

"It's just you and me, now, Bro…" Luigi sighed.

Mario: …oh yeah…

"You think we can still save the day at this rate?"

Mario gave a firm nod and trotted up to the nearby Star Block. He gave it a bonk, then motioned for his and his brother's team to carry on. Tails fiddled around with his watch, trying to contact one of the girls, but to no avail.

There was no response.

He heaved a heavy sigh, then trudged after his leader, muttering,

"Aw man…"

. . .

First Team BEG and then the fair Team ZAP were lost to the halls of Castle Bleck. Would they ever be seen again? Without his allies, could our hero Mario hope to stand against the evil Count Bleck? The very air in the castle grew heavier and even more ominous with every step. All they could do was plod forward in silence…

* * *

**Surprise, surprise! I couldn't resist throwing that battle in there. P**

**Anyway, now Team ZAP is gone...and man, the next chapter's going to be kinda bittersweet...**


	54. Countdown to Destruction

Super Paper Mario X

Chapter 54: Countdown to Destruction

"The power of The Void is growing. I can feel it. The Chaos Heart is close, now…" Tippi shared with the group. "The end is almost here…we must hurry!"

No one responded to Tippi, except for Luigi, who let out a feeble "Okay!". The loss of Team BEG had been depressing enough, but the loss of Team ZAP? It was hardly believable that they were still carrying on!

The ten of them walked in silence, teaming up to take out anything that stood in their way. Samus and Knuckles mainly took care of any enemies, after Malon and Link brought them down to the ground and Sonic and Tails proceeded to stun them. Kirby tried to raise the morale, as always, while Meta Knight helped him out with a few occasionally wise words. Mario and Luigi, however, let them be and carried on forward, leading like the leaders they apparently were.

Luigi jumped up and unintentionally gained a Fast Flower from a high up ? Block, but no one even bothered to speak to hear how hilarious their voices sounded. Sonic didn't even feel like going crazy with how fast he could go. They just took out the enemies, which happened to be Skellobits in their particular room, at a faster rate than usual.

The room constantly shaking didn't console them, either. It was like a non-stop reminder of how they had become six members short. Mario narrowed his eyebrows- he would make sure personally that these tremors would come to a painful halt.

"I'm already tired of these Skellobits," complained Tails, whacking one with his wrench and causing it to shatter. "And these Cursyas here and there don't make me feel any better."

Luigi bonked another ? Block, this time with a Slow Flower emerging out of it. Before he could even grab it, a Skellobit ate it and absorbed its powers. Luigi just blinked.

"That was totally unfair."

He gave it a kick, defeating it instantly, then carried on.

. . .

"Giant white pig!" Malon cried, Knuckles instantly running over and giving it a punch.

"A Hogarithm," Tippi revealed. "A stronger version of the Pigarithm like from the Whoa Zone. The way to defeat it is the same; just hit it three times…"

"Cool, cuz I already took care of it!" Knuckles exclaimed, folding his arms and striking a pose.

"And there's another one for me to blast," Samus smirked, taking aim and defeating another Hogarithm flawlessly.

"And there's a third one!" groaned Kirby, spotting another one at the end of the hall way.

"I've got this," Meta Knight stated, disappearing in a golden tornado as he approached it. Three well-placed slices of his sword were all that were needed to take it down.

"Nice work!" Sonic gave the three of them a thumbs up before taking off through the next door.

. . .

The next room housed several mirrors, but what terrified them the most was all the images of Dimentio throwing explosive sparkles at them. The ground defensively huddled together and did a double take.

"Jeez, talk about a welcoming!" exclaimed Sonic.

"Is Dimentio in here, or are these just some of his stupid clones?" Samus questioned gruffly.

"I don't know if I really wanna find out…" trembled Luigi.

"I know I don't," Tails murmured.

Mario ignored any protests and forged on, doing his best to weave and bob through the rain of magic. Malon was almost knocked off the edge by one of the sparkles, but Luigi and Link caught her quickly.

"Watch your step," Knuckles warned.

"And watch whatever's being thrown at you!" yelped Kirby, defeating an enemy that looked to be a relative of a Longator, only red in coloring. The group darted through the room, leaping over gaps and ducking under magic blasts. It was hectic, trying to do both at once, but miraculously they managed to pull it off. However, Mario passed by a mirror, and noticed that it was different from the other mirrors.

It didn't have a reflective gleam shine across it.

Instinctively, he flipped into 3D, then returned to 2D on the other side of the fake mirror. Once there, everyone realized that there were quite a few fake mirrors, and that there was no sign of Dimentio on the other side…

"So…Dimentio_ isn't_ in this room?" Malon asked innocently.

"Nope, but I'm not all too sure as to whether or not that's a good or bad thing…" Samus trailed.

"Just be grateful he's not here to mess with our minds or something," huffed Tails.

"Well, anyway," Link began, kicking open a chest. "I found a key, so maybe we should keep going…"

"I'm suddenly really unsettled…" shivered Luigi.

"But you're always unsettled."

"So? ! I've got a really bad feeling about this!"

Mario flipped into 3D, then returned to the mirror side of the room and allowed Luigi to continue.

"Just the mere presence of Dimentio makes me nervous…"

"Shoot, it makes me nervous too!" Sonic exclaimed. "He's probably next on the "final defense" list…"

Mario pressed his lips into a thin line as they reached the other side of the room. The key Link found fit perfectly into the locked door before them, and allowed them access into the next area.

. . .

Knuckles almost instantly claimed a mushroom in the next room, healing everyone's HP by five. They then found themselves standing before another rather large staircase, this one with Boomerang Bros. to keep them away. Malon fired arrows into their torsos, each taking two hits to be defeated.

"Uh, Malon?" Sonic asked, stopping her as she put her foot on the first step. She blinked and glanced over her shoulder.

"What?"

"I wouldn't go up there just yet…"

"Why not? I cleared the way, and there's nowhere else to go!"

"Perhaps there IS!" Link bellowed, throwing up his arms and flipping into 3D. Team Mario left Team Luigi in 2D, but not for long. A trip into the third dimension revealed a gap in the staircase, with a path that led right through it. Mario trotted into it, returning back to 2D once they were beyond the stairs.

"Whoa…what did you find?" Tails asked.

"A hidden path," Kirby explained. "Sneaky, sneaky, huh?"

Mario felt his foot knock against a discarded koopa shell, and unintentionally sent it flying across the floor. It tore through the shells that the Soopa Strikers kicked, and took down the Soopa Strikers as well. Any other shells that were left idle were promptly kicked by Luigi, Sonic, Knuckles, and Link, putting everything in their way out of commission.

"And that's one way to clear out a room," Knuckles chuckled.

"Huh, I wonder why this door is small than the usual ones," Samus pondered, staring at the door at the end of the hidden hall.

"I really don't think the size of the door matters much," scoffed Sonic, daring to be the first to enter it. Mario shrugged and rolled his eyes, following after the hyperactive hedgehog.

. . .

"Dead end," sighed Meta Knight. "Turn around?"

"Uh, not just yet…" Link trailed.

"Ugh, there's Blur Magiblots in here!" shrieked Malon. "That's the last thing we need!"

"I say let's take 'em out!" Sonic called, slamming his foot into the head of one just before it disappeared. Malon shook off her recent shriek and pulled out her bow, stringing an arrow and waiting for the right moment to strike.

About five Magiblots were in the room, and pinpointing just one was already hard enough. Tails managed to hit one with his screwdriver, and Kirby managed to defeat one with his Final Cutter. He noticed another one behind him and swallowed it before it disappeared.

"Fear the power of BLOT KIRBY!" he exclaimed, firing black blots with blue magic.

"Ahem? I believe it is Magiblot Kirby," Meta Knight interrupted.

"Blot Kirby sounds better, though."

"C'mon guys, weaken them enough and get them to all come out so I can finish them!" Malon ordered, still waiting to shoot her arrow.

"You got it!" Luigi exclaimed, taking over Cudge and slamming the hammer into the first Magiblot. The second one had to feel the wrath of Samus' Charge beam, the third one was attacked Knuckles, and the fourth one was coaxed out of hiding by Kirby, who gave it a taste of its own medicine. The four of them disappeared, then reappeared at the same time to deliver a very damaging blow.

"Not today!" Malon cried, firing her arrow and striking all four of them on the spot. They all became paralyzed with pain, finally admitting defeat and disintegrating in smoke.

"We beat them, so…now what?" Knuckles asked.

Mario: Beats me.

"Those black blocks up there! Maybe we have to hit them!" Tails and Kirby cried before exchanging a look. Everyone looked up, and sure enough, three black boxes marked with X's hovered above their heads.

"There's no way we can hit them," Samus said bluntly.

"Leave it to us," Meta Knight stated as Luigi, Knuckles, and Malon bashed the three blocks. However, the one that Malon hit caused a door to appear.

"Yeah!" she cheered as everyone rushed to go through.

"Couldn't have done it without us," Kirby and Tails said confidently.

"I'm sure we would've figured it out eventually," grunted Knuckles.

"You really think you could've come up with that?" Malon snickered.

"Heh, you got told by a girl!" snickered Sonic.

"Shut up! I'm not stupid!"

"Just gullible."

"Hey! I said shut it!"

. . .

"Looks like we do it all over again…" muttered Samus.

"Except this time, there's Red Magiblots!" remarked Kirby, firing at one with his own Magiblot magic. Thanks to the Red Magiblot's lower HP, it was damaged a lot, but more could've been done if it wasn't for the Blue Magiblot's weaker attack magic.

"I don't think getting rid of those things is necessary…" Luigi trailed as he walked under the second X Block.

"But they sure are annoying!" Sonic exclaimed as he and Mario punched one in the face each.

Luigi, meanwhile, struck the middle block, causing a door to come into existence underneath. The group finished fending off the Red Magiblots and quickly ran through the new door.

. . .

"Oh, great! The door is already here for us! How convenient! Let's just head on through and-"

"Trap," Sonic said instantly as he spin dashed a Yellow Magiblot.

"Really, Sonic? You think it's a trap?" Knuckles questioned, arms folded.

"Yes. Don't go through it."

"He's never been wrong about traps before," shrugged Link.

"But there's a door already here! What're we supposed to do, if that door really does lead to a trap?" Malon asked.

"This," Tails replied, flying up to the first block and giving it a whack. When that didn't work, he tried to third block.

The door that was already there move to the left, revealing another door located behind it. Tails smirked, Sonic gave Knuckles a smug look, and Knuckles just smacked himself in the head.

"You've gotta be kidding."

"We told you Sonic's never wrong," Kirby giggled.

"Yeah, about traps and nothing else," snickered Samus. Sonic gave her a look and Meta Knight ushered them all through the once-covered door.

. . .

"Ugh, another room with boxes?" groaned Malon. "Can't we change it up a little?"

"Well, they did by adding all three types of Magiblots…" Kirby trailed, super guarding against their magic by using Barry.

"Perhaps there's a different trick to hitting these blocks," Tails pondered as he clonked the yellow Magiblot in the head with his wrench.

"And if there is a trick, how are we supposed to figure out what it is?" Link asked while he hacked at the Red Magiblot and took it out quickly.

Mario grinned slyly and flipped into 3D by himself, just to check things out. On the sides of the blocks were numbers, indicating the order in which they needed to be hit. The first had a three on it, the second had a one, and the third one had a two. Mario returned back to 2D and told Knuckles which order to hit them in.

"I'm on it, Thunder's Bro!"

Mario: *sweat drops*

Luigi watched as Knuckles hit the second, third, then first block and caused a chest to appear. The echidna landed back on the ground with a smile as Meta Knight wrestled the Blue Magiblot to the ground and allowed Samus to blast mercilessly at it. Once it was vanquished, Mario kicked the chest open and claimed a key.

"And that's why we explore everywhere we can," Sonic said to Malon. Malon just put her hands on her hips.

"How was I supposed to know?"

**Back at the Stairs-**

"Now we can go up without any more interruptions, correct?" Meta Knight wanted confirmed.

"That is correct, Mettie," Kirby replied, skipping up the steps. Meta Knight made a face behind his mask as he trudged after.

"Why is everyone calling me that now? !"

"I don't call you that, Mettie!" Link pointed out. "Er…never mind."

"I think it's easier just to call him MK," Malon shrugged.

"Or how about just Knight?" Knuckles suggested. He received silence as an answer. "Fine then!"

At the top of the first set of stairs, Knuckles took out his frustration at two hypnotized Koopatrols while Mario jumped under a ? block. A Coin Flower popped out, and though the group collected any coins that landed in their grip, it sadly reminded them of Amy and her coin hording and spending ways.

The ground trembled again as they ascended up the next flight of stairs, Mario and Luigi removing another two Boomerang Bros. that got in their way. When they reached the top of stairs, Luigi hit the next ? Block, only to be attacked by a white and undead mushroom.

"Good gravy, what in this world is THAT! ?"

"Ghoul Shroom," Tippi said calmly as Malon dispatched it with a Boost Bash. She gave Luigi a look and shook her head while he just grinned sheepishly. Mario also shook his head as he stuck their acquired key into the lock on the door and entered the next room.

. . .

"This room is…suspicious…" Samus deduced as she blasted the head right off a Skellobit.

"What makes you say that?" Tails asked curiously.

"Just an adventurer's intuition, Tails."

"Mine's better," Link boasted, only to receive a hit. "Ow! But seriously, I get a weird vibe from this room too…"

"Maybe you should check out the room in the third dimension?" suggested Meta Knight.

"I was just about to do that," Sonic claimed as Mario threw up his hands and teleported.

In the 3D version of the room, Team Mario discovered a series of arrows along the wall, as if depicting a certain path they needed to take. Only problem was, they couldn't get onto the higher areas, so Team Luigi was just going to have to trust their judgment…

"Okay guys!" Kirby announced as they returned. "There's a special way we need to navigate this room, but we can't do it without you!"

"How may we be of assistance?" Meta Knight asked.

"Just follow our instructions, and you'll be fine!" Link assured.

"I've got a bad feeling about this…" groaned Knuckles.

"Just roll with it!" Sonic ordered, moving the group in front of the door. "Okay, from that spot, jump onto the platform!"

Team Luigi exchange uncertain looks before following instructions and jumping up.

"Okay, now walk a few steps forward…" Link trailed.

"And jump down!" Kirby finished.

"This is ridiculous!" Malon said incredulously, performing said actions.

"Ignoring that!" Samus proclaimed.

"We're just following the wall," Sonic said as-a-matter-of-factly. "Now walk forward…"

They all walked forward until they walked right under the second platform, and Mario told them to stop. Link instructed them to jump onto it, then to jump onto the platform to their upper left.

"Doing great!" Sonic called with a wide grin.

"You'd better not be messing with us…" Tails said with a sideways look.

"We're not! If we had impressive jumps, we'd be doing it instead of you," Samus huffed. "Now leap over to the platform directly across from you."

"Like this?" Knuckles asked, gliding over to the platform directly across from them. Samus sweatdropped.

"Yes, Knuckles…"

"Then from there, jump toward the door on the far right!" Kirby requested. "Let's go!"

The group all took one big leap, landing right in front of the door without any problems. Luigi then turned to Mario and asked him what the point of all that was.

Mario: We're not entirely sure…

"Say what? !"

"We better not have done all of that for nothing!" Malon threatened.

"We assure you, that's what the wall said to do!"

"…let's just go through the stinking door…" Meta Knight grumbled.

"I bet twenty coins that something happened in the next room!"

"I bet a Green Rupee!"

"That's like betting nothing, Link."

"So? !"

. . .

The next room was filled with mirrors like before, but these mirrors lacked Dimentio altogether. Mario and Luigi were thankful for that and started to lead the heroes to the other side of the room. It was slightly confusing to depict the platforms from the mirrors, plus the Longadiles weren't making it any easier to maneuver through the room.

"Hey, this one doesn't have a sheen!" Sonic noticed, landing next to another glassless window.

"There's probably something else to explore beyond there," Samus decided, flipping into 3D and jumped through. When Team Mario returned to 2D on the other side, however, they were in for the shock of a lifetime.

The whole room was filled with Dimentios.

"GAH! Talk about enough to give you nightmares!" yelped Tails.

"They…they're not hurting us, though…" Malon realized.

"Must be more clones," Meta Knight deduced.

"But MAN! I do NOT enjoy swimming in a sea of Dimentio!" Link wailed, swinging his sword to clear out some of the Dimentios so he could get by.

"Ooh, this is so not cool…" Luigi chattered, wading through the crowd and making his way to the left while Mario pushed his way to the right. Samus blasted at every Dimentio in sight while Sonic managed to clear some of them out of the way with Whirlwind. Knuckles made way for Luigi by slamming his fists into the ground and sending several Dimentios skyrocketing while Meta Knight tore through the bunch with his Tornado.

"Super Shroom!" Tails cried after hitting the ? Block on the far left. Malon and Luigi, meanwhile, found a chest in the sea of jesters and opened it up.

"…a Thunder Rage?" Malon questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Hey, it makes up for the one we lost," Luigi shrugged.

Mario, meanwhile, found a chest on the other side as well, taking the key that they would probably need out of it. Link claimed a Super Shroom out of a ? block like Tails did, then everyone rejoined at the window and Mario returned to 3D to jump back through.

Once back on the other side, the gang quickly made their way to the next door, which Mario unlocked. He wanted to bust right in right away, but something just made him hesitant to do so…

"What's wrong, Bro.?" Luigi asked, noticing his brother's apprehensiveness. "It's just another room!"

Mario just looked perplexed.

"C'mon Mario, I'm the one who's supposed to be afraid of entering doors, not the other way around!"

Mario quickly stated that he was _not_ afraid, just…uncertain.

"What's there to be uncertain about?" Luigi questioned again. "You're my Big Bro! You're not afra- er…uncertain about anything! That's my job!"

Mario shook off his "uncertainty" and gave Luigi a courageous nod and entered the next room.

He was just really hoping that he wasn't going to regret it.

. . .

"Ah ha ha ha ha. So…you've made it here at last."

Mario regretted it instantly.

Dimentio greeted them with his usual demented smile, standing on the ground rather than hovering about in the air. The ten of them approached him cautiously, just in case he was about to perform some last minute trick.

"Oh…but what's this?" Dimentio asked, peering around Mario. "You seem to be missing the ravishing females and the arm flailers."

"Dimentio…" Tippi began slowly and carefully. "We don't have time to trade barbs with you…move out of the way!"

"Ahhh, I see. You're in a hurry. Allow me to get out of your way, then…"

He snapped his fingers and disappeared out of view, making everyone uneasy.

"…Just as soon as you defeat me! Ah ha ha ha ha."

"Always the darn catch."

"You've proven to be worthy foes in the past, so I'm not going to make it easy. You'll have to come and get me first. It'll be like a game of tag…with _magic_!"

"We'll come and get you, all right…" Samus grunted under her breath.

"Crud, we can't continue forward," Knuckles sighed after trying to get the next door open.

"How are we supposed to chase him, then?" Kirby asked.

"Uh…am I the only one that noticed the dimension rift in the center of the wall?" Link asked, pointing at the sparkling rip in space.

"Ooh! This is where I shine, amore!" Fleep exclaimed. "Si! Si!"

"We know, Fleep…" Sonic moaned. "Eggman's not here, though…"

"I'll use him," Tails offered, allowing the Pixl to float by his side. He drew a square in midair around the rip, then pointed at it. Fleep flew over in a flash, using his ability to open the rip and bring a ! block into their dimension. Mario frowned slightly before giving the block a well-deserved bash.

. . .

The group had all been teleported Dimentio-style…into Lineland?

"Whoa, what's this place?" Malon asked with all. "It's so…simple here!

"This is where Mario and I first started our adventure…" Tippi trailed. "It was where I realized how powerful and strong Mario really was."

Mario scratched the back of his head sheepishly as Knuckles stomped at the ground.

"Where'd that clown go? ! I get the feeling this fool wants to have a cat and mouse chase…"

"He went that way!" Link cried, seeing Dimentio glide off right. Mario bolted after him instantly, with the rest of the group following quickly and Luigi picking up the back.

It was just like before, simplistic and calm. It brought back the memories of how easy Mario felt going through Lineland the first time, and the feeling of how unsure he was about being able to save all the worlds by himself. He glanced over his shoulder as he kicked a Koopa shell- he was the luckiest guy in the world to have such great friends, but at the rate they were going, they were all dropping like flies…

"The only difference from before is that The Void is pretty much the sky now…" Tippi trailed sadly. "Before, it was hardly anything…"

"It's sad to even think about a world dying…" Malon sniffed, even bending down to pet the grass.

"Think about a world when it's_ already_ dead," Meta Knight murmured darkly under his breath.

Mario continued to navigate Lineland Road like a pro, beating the same enemies and bashing the same boxes like it was natural.

"Going back to places we were previously…heh, it reminds me of Hatesong tower," Luigi chuckled.

"Except it's called "Lovesong Tower" now," Knuckles pointed out.

"I remember how Knuckles stole our map," Malon recalled cheerfully. "_That_ was interesting-"

"Oh, shut it, Malon."

"What're you guys talking about?" Samus asked, raising an eyebrow as she blasted a set of blocks out of their way.

"What? Don't you guys like to look back a lot?" Malon asked.

"We've only had one adventure and we reflect all the time!" Tails exclaimed.

"Now that I think about it, I guess we don't look back all that often," Kirby shrugged.

"I'm too busy looking forward," said Sonic.

"Well it's also good to never forget, either," Meta Knight said wisely.

"You and your wisdom…" Luigi sighed, smiling.

"What? It's not a bad thing to have a few quotes up your sleeve!"

Mario defeated a Squig and a Squog, then spotted another Dimensional Rift up ahead. He pointed it out to Tails, who used Fleep on it and revealed another ! Block. Luigi trotted over and gave it a whack, causing the group to teleport to their next destination.

. . .

"…Merlee's Mansion?"

"Oh, what fun it was here."

"Please…" Sonic shivered. "I don't need to be reminded."

The group had indeed returned to Merlee's Mansion, unfortunately at the part of the mansion where Mimi slave-drove everyone. Tippi spotted Dimentio floating toward the top floor and quickly flew after him.

"Tippi! Wait! What's the rush?"

"Slow down, Tipps!"

They hurried to follow Tippi, Link trying to open the doors on the top floor. To his surprise, they were all locked, and all the slaves were gone.

"Well that's good to know, at least…" Sonic trailed.

"But there's kind of the problem of how we're at a dead end, now," Malon stated.

"Not necessarily," replied Kirby, putting up his arms and flipping into 3D. Mario did as well, recalling the hidden rooms of the mansion. Team Mario stepped through the wall, reaching the ladder that lead up to the vault. Returning back to 2D, the ten of them climbed the ladder and came back in contact with the lasers.

"Looks like ya'll be needing me, again!" Slim exclaimed. Kirby nodded eagerly and used Slim's power, slenderizing everyone. Slowly, they approached the lasers, stopping as they allowed one to pass over them harmlessly. Reaching the vault just like Mario, Link, and Sonic had before, Samus noticed another Dimensional Rift, which Tails instantly took care of.

"The Bitlands will probably be next…" Kirby recalled as Mario hit the next ! Block.

. . .

"Hooray! I was right!"

"And we're underwater again! AUGH!"

"Sonic, you survived it once, I'm pretty sure you can survive it again."

"But the claustrophobia in that box! Brr…"

Meta Knight gave Sonic a weird look as Knuckles saw Dimentio heading to the left out of the corner of his eye. Mario followed instantly, with Link and Kirby having to drag Sonic through the undertow again.

"How come we can breathe underwater?" Luigi asked in surprise. "Any other time we can't!"

"Yeah, I've nearly drowned twice last time, and water certainly wasn't breathable then!" Malon exclaimed.

"Oh yeah," Link grimaced, giving Luigi a look. "I remember that."

Luigi retorted with, "She's here and fine now, isn't she?"

"Yeah, Thunder would definitely make sure of that," snickered Knuckles, getting Meta Knight and Tails to join in as well and for Malon make a face.

"Can we just focus on getting out of here?" Samus asked, making sushi out of Bloopers and Cheep-Cheeps.

"Well, the Dimensional Rift is just over there," Kirby said, pointing over to it.

"That's when we jumped into the Tile Pool for the first time," Link remembered.

"Yeah, pleasant," Sonic hissed.

"Wasn't our fault Bowser pushed you in!"

Tails used Fleep for a fourth time, and Luigi hit the ! Block, taking them to the next area.

. . .

"This is outrageous," Samus grunted as they arrived on Planet Blobule.

"Good gosh, The Void is huge here!" Malon exclaimed.

"Which just means we need to hurry even more…" Link trailed, already taking a leap off the cliff they were standing on. Mario saw Dimentio drifting past one of the only tress on the planet and jumped up after him.

"Sweet! We can jump really high on this planet!" Tails realized, Team Luigi's jumps going twice as high.

"Don't jump too far," warned Sonic as Mario flipped into 3D and rediscovered the hidden path they needed to take. The five members of his team hurried across, then returned back to 2D.

"Hurgh, this is exhausting…" Kirby panted.

"At least we didn't have to spend too much time here…" Meta Knight pointed out as Tails revealed the next ! Block. Mario wasted no time in hitting it, only becoming hesitant as he remembered where they were going next.

. . .

"Crud."

They were back in the Land of the Cragnons. They were in the area that Bowser had originally stormed through, with the Cragvision still on the rock and a Pokey still mulling around. Samus blasted it to pieces as Luigi hurried forward. Mario was right behind his brother, already having a feeling as to where the next Dimensional Rift would be located. Luigi tried to go all the way to the right, but Mario grabbed his brother's shoulder to stop him. The red plumber teleported into 3D and descended down the secret path, returning to 2D when he reached the bottom.

"Man that's cool!" Luigi cried, once he returned to Mario's side. Mario beamed a little as Tails ran over to the next Dimensional Rift to their left. He flipped it and brought a ! block into existence, both of the Mario Bros. giving it a whack.

. . .

Upon seeing where they ended up next, the two teams frowned deeply. They were in the World of Nothing, what used to be Sammer's Kingdom.

"He even had the gall to lead us back here…" Kirby whimpered.

"Finding the next Rift shouldn't be that hard, though; we just have to continue forward," Sonic stated, running a ways ahead.

"I get such a bad feeling from this place…" Knuckles trailed. "And not just because it's desolate…"

"I do too, Knuckles…" Tails agreed sadly. He stared hard at the ground as they plodded on, thinking to himself. _"Am I _really_ the only one that remembers what happened…?"_

"To think this is what will become of the worlds if we don't act fast…" Malon whispered, trembling slightly. Luigi comforted her by putting an arm around her shoulders and leading her away.

"It'll be okay; we always get there in time, don't we?"

"We certainly didn't get there in time for this world," grunted Meta Knight. Luigi's face went blank as he glanced down at the knight. Meta Knight just shrugged.

"Anyway…there's the Rift…" Tippi pointed out, after flying for what felt like quite awhile. Sonic was already there, waiting impatiently. Tails used Fleep's ability, followed by Luigi hitting the ! Block and teleporting them all out of there.

. . .

"Last but not least…"

"..The Underwhere."

"Hopefully we'll finally be taken back to Castle Bleck after this," Link stated.

"Aw man…" Luigi trailed. "We don't have Bowser to light the torches! We have to go through the darkness alone!"

"No, we don't…" Malon trailed, turning to Piccolo and grinning. Piccolo caught on to what she was implying and floated over Malon's head. She began to play the Song of Light, with Malon bringing her flute up and playing the exact same thing. Within moments, the shadows of the room dispersed and rendered them able to see where they were going. "It might not be what the song should truly be used for, but hey, it'll work in this situation too!"

"Good work Malon," Kirby said, already beginning to bound upwards. Everyone followed him instantly, jumping from platform to platform, riding the rectangles, and avoiding being snagged by Underhands- which both Luigi and Sonic made sure to steer clear of. When they reached the top, Tails flew to Dorguy the First, who had what was hopefully the final Rift on his door. Tails flipped it, revealed the ! Block, and Mario got them all out of there.

. . .

"Castle Bleck…never would've thought I'd be grateful for seeing its bleakness once again."

"Enjoying my game of tag?" Dimentio chuckled, casually waiting for them.

"No," Knuckles grunted back as they advanced toward him once again.

"Stop messing around and fight us for real!" Luigi demanded.

"Messing around? Oh, no. Magic is no laughing matter. I am always deadly serious."

"Oh really?" Samus huffed, readying her cannon to fire at any moment. The edges of Dimentio's mouth went up a little as he began to explain.

"I have been watching you. You are the only ones who can stand up to Count Bleck. So…I have a favor to ask. Will you help me…destroy the Count?"

"What? !" Tippi screeched, making the heroes all jump in surprise.

"What are you talking about? !" cried Malon. "You want to betray him? !"

"Betray him? Ah ha ha ha. Oh, no. It is Count Bleck who has betrayed ME!" Dimentio continued. "He said he would destroy all worlds and create a new, perfect world in their place. But he was lying! He plans to obliterate every world, and then keep them all in ruin."

Everyone gasped as Tippi appeared to look particularly disturbed.

"I have always known about his nefarious goal. But I could never hope to stop him on my own. I feigned loyalty to him as I searched for someone who could defeat him with me!" he turned away, but he could still feel the group's gaping stares. "Well, you see…that is why….I rescued the females from certain brainwashing."

"Say what now? !" Link yelped.

"It's why I saved the other princess from falling- I used her as bait to bring her _back_ to you. It's why I prevented the orange-suited woman from falling to her death in the vacuum of space. It's also why I sent you to the Underwhere to fix the broken Pure Heart. And why I freed a man to be reunited with his brother…and it brought all of you back together, no? Now do you see?"

"You've…been helping us all this time?" Tippi asked in disbelief.

"Ahhh, you've got me pegged. Now, how about you return the favor? I'll give you the power you need to crush Count Bleck…Just fight by my side!

Tails just shook his head. "I…still don't trust him…"

"…don't believe me? But trust, it is the tasty paste that holds civilization together!"

"You've…you've got to be lying…" Sonic strained to say.

"Yeah…I feel like he's just trying to pull one over on us," added Meta Knight.

"You are like a sad, meager sack that has deflated and lost all its trust!"

"He's not even making any sense now!" shouted Knuckles. "I really don't trust him!"

"Still you refuse? But this offer, it drips with generosity! With the Chaos Heart in our hands, we can rule every world! Do you still refuse?"

Mario: Forget it!

"So you spit upon my offer? You have wasted my time. For that, your game ends." He eyes shifted dangerously around the room. "I think I'll start with the green plumber. The shag upon his lip will make a fine trophy."

Luigi was appalled. "SHAG! ? This mustache is all LUIGI!"

"Luigi, are you okay?" Tails asked, seeing Luigi's anger sudden spike.

"Ooh, I don't like when he gets like this…" moaned Malon. "Whether it's for better or for worse!"

Luigi struck a determined pose and stared Dimentio down. "Leave this one to me, Bro.! You run ahead! You've got worlds to save. You don't have time to fight this baddie! Don't let the other team's sacrifices be for nothing! …or mine, either!"

Mario: * is gawking*

"Y-you sure, Luigi?" Kirby trembled.

"Dimentio is nothing compared to what we've been through," Meta Knight assured, brandishing his sword and preparing himself to fight.

"You really think you can handle it?" Samus asked, in a worried tone rather than a scoffing one.

"Heck yeah!" Knuckles replied, holding up his fists. "If Thunder wants to go through with it, then what's holding us back?"

"Um, us?" Sonic retorted, staring at Tails. "Dimentio isn't any pushover like the other minions. Not only is he powerful, he's crazy!"

"I know," Tails sighed, glancing at the ground again. His fist then tightened and he looked back up determinedly. "If we take him out, though, he won't harm anyone any more!"

"You don't have to do this alone, you know…" Link said quietly. Malon nodded.

"We know…but we'd like to. Think of it as our contribution to help saving the world. Who knows? We might defeat him easily and then we'll catch up with you later!"

"You make it sound so simple…"

"But…what if you don't make it back like Teams BEG and ZAP?" Kirby struggled to say.

"We'll be okay, Kirby," Meta knight consoled. "Just get going now and we won't fail!"

"Besides Bro.," Luigi continued, watching as his brother shook his head on the sidelines to protest against it all. "He made fun of my 'stache! You know I'm sensitive about that. Lemme at him!"

Mario, nor any of his teammates, dared to make a move. The red plumber constantly blinked at his brother, unsure of what to think.

"Run for it, Bro!"

Dimentio tapped his foot like he was getting impatient, and Samus fired a shot at him, which he dodged all too easily. After thinking it over for the longest time, Mario finally allowed Luigi to fight Dimentio alone. The younger plumber smiled a bit.

"Thanks, Bro…"

"We won't let you down," Malon added.

"Promise," finished Knuckles.

One by one, the members of Team Mario made their way out the next door, Mario stopping to turn around and glance at Luigi one last time. Tippi gave him a soft nudge, which was enough to finally pull him away. Team Luigi was left to stand their ground, and surprisingly Tails was the one that looked the most worried.

"Ah ha ha ha. How tender. I think I just squeezed out a tear," Dimentio sighed emotionlessly. "Yes, Team Mario can run along. And if he somehow managed to defeat Count Bleck on his own…all the better! And so I strike, like an unseen dodge ball in an echoing gymnasium!"

He flew off to the side almost instantly, using his magic to trap the five members in his explosive boxes.

"Well, we're off to a great start," Knuckles muttered before everyone was violently blasted. When the boxes disappeared, the group all tumbled onto the ground and groaned.

"It's not like we can't hit back," Luigi grunted, pushing himself back to his feet and helping Malon up. "We've just gotta play rough!"

"You simpletons are completely clueless about everything, aren't you?" Dimentio mocked, splitting into two and firing his magic blasts. Malon did a backflip to avoid them, then stared up at one of the Dimentios.

"What are you talking about?"

"Yeah, what's that supposed to mean?" Knuckles added, upper cutting one of the Dimentios with it luckily being the correct one. Dimentio didn't reply immediately, moving to a different spot in the room before flipping into 3D. Somehow from the third dimension, he was able to hit them with the blasts without having to worry at all.

"That's not even fair!" Tails cried, swerving around in the air, trying to dodge them like crazy.

"Show your face, coward!" Meta Knight bellowed, fighting off the magic with his sword. Dimentio showed his face again, firing a shot at Meta Knight, then disappeared again. The swordsman growled, taking a tight grip on his sword, then waited for the right moment to strike. When Dimentio appeared again, Meta Knight moved like lightning, striking him instantly.

"For one, it's a shame you can't remember such critical parts of your past," Dimentio stated, splitting into three. All three floated in a triangle formation around Luigi and attack simultaneously. One of the Dimentio's floated over to Tails and whispered in his ear, "Well…except for you."

"How do you know that? !" Tails shrieked abruptly, attempting to whack the jester with his wrench. It was a fake, however, and simply disappeared into smoke.

"What?" the remaining Dimentios fired six sparks at Tails, the fox getting hit only two. "It's not my fault you haven't informed your friends of what they went through…"

Tails froze, which was the wrong thing to do, as he was swiftly knocked to the ground.

"You could've helped them! Reminding someone of something they forgot makes them remember instantly! Hasn't Team Mario taught you that?"

"Maybe I don't want them to remember!"

"And for what reasons?"

"Hey!" Luigi shouted, jumping at the nearest Dimentio. "Stop harassing him, even though I have no idea what you're talking about!"

"Luigi!"

The plumber kicked the Dimentio in the head and did some damage, revealing that it was the real one. The clones disappeared, and Dimentio returned to sight.

"You are foolish to go against me, like the impaired little boy who refuses to listen to his mother and play with fire!"

He conjured up some boxes, but only Knuckles and Malon were caught up in them. Luigi, Tails, and Meta Knight ran up the boxes, all three of them reaching Dimentio and attacking at the same time. Once the boxes disappeared, the three of them landed next to Knuckles and Malon, and all five of them prepared themselves for anything. Dimentio split into three again and hurled several sparks of magic at the group.

"Nice trick," Malon scoffed, pulling out her flute. "Allow me to do one as well."

She started to play her heavy metal song to get an anvil to drop on the real Dimentio, but the jester just yawned and flipped into 3D.

"Silly girl, you'll have to try harder than that to damage the Master of Dimensions!"

"Like THIS!" shouted Knuckles, performing Deep Impact on the nearest Dimentio. It was a fake, to his chagrin, and Dimentio's chuckle echoed throughout the entire room. The two of him summoned more sparkles, and all of them got hurt by simply trying to attack.

"You think teleporting simply comes from the heart?" Dimentio hissed, casting his magic like a madman. "You're wrong! Not anyone can just teleport! As the Master of Dimensions, everyone bends to my will!"

"You're wrong!" Luigi yelled, super jumping into the real Dimentio. "So you're good at teleporting, who cares? Anyone can teleport, but they just have to believe!"

"Believe? Ha! I scoff at that!" he trapped Luigi in a box and grinned sinisterly. "So maybe everyone can, but only if I'm not paying attention. Listen to this, fool- whenever someone teleports, I can feel it. That's how Count Blecks pathetic cronies managed to find you all so easily..."

The box exploded, leaving Luigi looking a bit injured on the ground. Dimentio contiued to hover at his side and look intimidating. "With all the teleporting your group does, its enough to give me a headache! It was my mistake to allow that stupid green swordsman to teleport in the first place, because look at the mess I'm forced to clean!"

"Don't talk about Link like that!" Malon snapped, firing arrows at Dimentio. Dimentio flipped into 3D, still ranting up a storm.

"It was coincidence that the pink puff discovered teleporting at the same time, and even more happenstance that they ended up on the same world," he huffed, attacking the group from the other dimension. "I was so careless back then…I assumed they'd all go back home eventually, but no! They continued to careen across the universe!"

He returned to 2D and split into three, raining down on them with his magic and teleporting like crazy.

"The girls learned out of envy…the villains learned out of lust for power…and all of you? You only learned because you felt lonely and left out of it all! And it will be your downfall!"

He went in to smite Tails, but the fox countered by whirling his tails around and smacking Dimentio in the face several times. He teleported away quickly, but Meta Knight was right there to give him a taste of his sword.

"The biggest mistake was allowing anyone into your world," Dimentio grimaced, staring at Luigi. "That's where it was set into motion, that darned party…that's where they met Mario, and technically that's where you all met…Sure, you can all teleport. Sure, anyone can! Big whoop. It takes a true master of the dimensions to be able to pinpoint when and where someone goes, and even more to be able to teleport other people, and created dimensions of my own!"

He captured them in boxes again, then snapped his fingers. The group all let out insecure wails as they were painfully tossed around the room, Dimentio teleporting them from one spot to the next. When he finally showed some mercy, they all crashed on the floor, looking limp and weak. Luigi glanced up and saw Dimentio approaching them again.

"Instead of killing them all off like I should," he seethed, trapping them in boxes again. "I've decided to use my original mistakes to my advantage! They'll defeat Count Bleck, and when they do, they'll be weakened…and I'll step in and steer everything in the right direction…into darkness!"

"You're demented!" yelled Knuckles incredulously, fighting to get free.

"They don't call me Dimentio for nothing!" Dimentio cackled, detonating the area inside the boxes. "I'm unpredictable; you'll never be able to tell what I'll do next…I'm like a fox in the dead of night, on a last minute hunt…"

"I think it's time we ended this," Malon said seriously, jumping up and kicking Dimentio. She stumbled back onto the floor, but regained her balance quickly. Dimentio sent a wave of sparkles her way, but Luigi pushed her out of the way as Knuckles pounded both his fists on the villain's head. Dimentio went spiraling onto the floor, only to land harshly on Tails' screwdriver. Dimentio, grabbing his back, pushed the fox away, then cast some sparks at Meta Knight.

Dimentio divided into four this time, the quartet splitting up and attacking everyone but Luigi. Malon furiously played her flute, trying to get Dimentio to back off, but nothing was working! Knuckles swatted at his Dimentio, but it was obviously a fake, considering he couldn't seem to land any sort of blow. Meta Knight was dueling a fake as well, his sword slicing right through the Dimentio and doing nothing.

Luigi quickly deduced that the real one was battling Tails, and maliciously at that. Tails could barely defend against the barrage, and quickly found himself enveloped in a box. He winced inwardly, recalling just how he got his game over and was sent to the Underwhere…

"Haven't I told you already to leave the kid alone?" Luigi grunted, knocking Dimentio out of the air with his Super Jump right before Tails was hurt. "And while you're at it, back off on everyone else! I'm the one you really want gone, and I can feel it!"

"Well, if you're dispatched, everyone else falls apart," Dimentio said simply, followed by summoning his clones to attack Luigi. Tails quickly scrambled away and ran next to Malon and Knuckles. "It's like removing a safety pin out of a well-oiled machine- it breaks into pieces after that!"

"So don't hurt them then!"

"Why not?" he summoned more boxes, but the team jumped on them in the nick of time. "They're hurting _me,_ so it's only fair! Besides…"

While they were distracted, Dimentio teleported them all to the other side of the room, caused them to crash into the wall.

"…I need all of you out of the picture anyway. The fox might know why…"

Tails suddenly felt dizzy and he caught the jist of what Dimentio was trying to say.

"Tails has nothing you need!" Meta Knight exclaimed, swinging his sword and causing a Sword Beam to smack into Dimentio. Dimentio toppled backwards in the air, but appeared unscathed.

"He certainly doesn't but he might have knowledge that _you_ might need."

"N-No, I don't…"

"You sicken me, you really do," Malon growled as she shot another arrow. It struck Dimentio dead in the chest, rendering him weak for a moment. Luigi acted quickly, crouching under Dimentio then rocketing upwards. The force of his jump caused Dimentio to flounder right out of the air and land on his back.

"NOOOO!"

Team Luigi quickly pulled themselves together and lined up next to each other, ready to charge if Dimentio dared to make another move. Dimentio, however, just grabbed his head and stood back up, stumbling around.

"I…I cry uncle! Mercy! Uncle, I say!"

"Had enough Dimentio?" Luigi smirked. "I didn't need my superstar bro to take you on!"

"I-I see that now…your power is formidable…which is exactly why I can't let you fall into Count Bleck's velvet lines gloves…"

"Wait, huh?" Knuckles managed to get out before Dimentio landed next to them. Luigi saw Dimentio start to lift up his hands and acted quickly. He pushed Tails, Meta Knight and Knuckles out of the way, followed by grabbing Malon and tossing her after them…just as Dimentio enveloped Luigi and himself in a box.

"Luigi!" Malon gasped as she bounced on the ground and landed in Knuckles, Meta Knight's, and Tails' arms. Luigi, meanwhile, wasn't sure as to what he was supposed to be stunned at: his heroic feat, being trapped in a box, or being trapped in a box with Dimentio.

"W-What're you doing…? !" he stammered, fear evident in his eyes.

"Ah ha ha ha! I have you now! Luigi!"

"ACK! No!" the rest of the team cried, throwing themselves against the death box.

"There is nothing you can do now!" Dimentio chortled. "We will both taste the agony of game-overing…by magic!"

"Luigi! No!" Tails shouted, banging rapidly on the edge of the box. "Not like this! NOT AGAIN!"

"Noble, noble Luigi…" Meta Knight trailed quietly, also somehow trying to get the box open.

"C-C'mon, y-you guys…" Luigi trembled, leaning against the inside of the box. "Get out of here. Go help Mario save the world!"

"But not without you!" Malon sobbed, tears shimmering at the corners of her eyes. "We're a team! If you go down, we go down together!"

Luigi smiled minutely as he stared at Malon. "That's not how I'd want it. I didn't sacrifice myself for you guys for nothing! G-Go on… this won't end pretty…"

"Luigi…"

"I'll miss you…I'll miss you all…"

"Enough of this!" Dimentio boomed, snapping his fingers. "Ciao!"

"N-n-nooooo! Wahwahwahwahwah!"

"LUIGI!" Malon, Tails, Meta Knight, and Knuckles yelled at the top of their lungs as the violent explosions of the box sent them flying away. Luckily, they didn't have to witness Luigi and Dimentio's departing, for when they pulled themselves together and dared to look back, both of them were gone.

"N-No…" Knuckles trembled, falling to his knees. "Just…no!"

"He gave his life to save ours…" Meta Knight mumbled, hanging his head low. "My respect for him has grown, if that's even possible."

"Not…again…" Tails whimpered, tears threatening to burst at any moment. "I couldn't save him…again…"

"LUIIIIIIIGI!" Malon shouted to the sky in her fit of rage, just before the floor rumbled violently and caved in. Bit by bit, the floor fell piece by piece, and Team Luigi was too busy morning over their leader to worry about what was going to happen to them as they fell along with the ground beneath them…

. . .

On the other side of the door, Team Mario hadn't gotten far when they heard the large explosions, the screaming, and the massive crashing. Instantly, they all darted back to the door, Mario hurrying to try and get it open. Tippi's heart nearly stopped with shock.

"Team Luigi!"

"M-Mario…?" Link trailed, watching Mario struggle with the door. Eventually, Mario gave up, solemnly turned to his team, and shook his head.

"No…it can't be…" Tippi breathed sadly.

"What are the stinking odds? !" Kirby yelled hysterically, falling to the ground and beginning to sob.

"We've lost out arch foes, we lost our…"girlfriends", for the most part…and now we've lost not just our best friends, but people who are practically our family …" Sonic ranted, holding the wall for support. "This castle has taken away the things that are most dear to us…"

"It's hard to say…" Samus said slowly, trying hard not to drop a few tears herself. "I never took them for granted, but…you truly never do realize what you have until it's gone…"

Mario stared sadly at the door, then motioned for everyone to get going. They starred at the plumber in surprise.

"But…Team Luigi…" trembled Link. Mario just pointed forward, attempting to smile.

"…you're right, Mario," Tippi finally said. "It hurts, but you're right. We must grieve for them later. We have to stop the count."

Mario: Yeah!

"We've got to do this alone now…" Samus trailed, starting to walk as well.

"Sniff…it's up to us…" Kirby sniffled.

"The weight of the worlds on our shoulders…" Sonic trailed. "We have to do it, not just for our friends, but for literally everyone…"

"Then there's no time to waste," Link finished, watching as Mario hit the final Star Block. This was it, it was all or nothing after this…

And for everyone's sake, let's hope that it wasn't all just for nothing…

. . .

A frigid wind blew through the dim and drafty corridors of Castle Bleck. Team BEG, Team ZAP…and even brave Team Luigi was gone. Team Mario was the only team of heroes left. It was up to Team Mario to stop the dark prophecy. Every world hung in the balance. What thrilling conclusion awaited our heroes? Mario ran to the count's inner sanctum, his mustache fluttering in the breeze…

* * *

**Good lord, these chapters are getting more and more depressing, aren't they?**

**(I also threw in a theory I've always had about Dimentio because it fit in really well...at least, it did at the time!)**


	55. One Team to Stand Alone

Super Paper Mario X

Chapter 55: One Team to Stand Alone

"So, it's just us now, isn't it?" Tippi recapped once again.

"It reminds me of the time we first met…" Link trailed.

"Heh, it was so rushed," Sonic chuckled.

Tippi suddenly started making weird noises, and wouldn't stop until the remaining five heroes gave her confused looks. She quivered, daring to stare at the red plumber.

"…I'm so sorry, Mario…I promised you that I would help you find your friends…and now…all of them are gone forever…"

Mario: No, no.

"What? ! You're saying you know they're still alive? !"

Mario: Yeah!

"Maybe you are right and they did somehow survive…they ARE heroes."

Mario nodded again, the members of his team exchanging glances. Tippi floated next to Mario, looking more determined than sorrowful.

"I'm going to believe in them…" she nearly whispered.

"I'll believe in them, too…" Kirby trailed.

"Yeah…I will as well…" added Samus.

As the rest of the team unanimously agreed on this, Tippi turned away and muttered to herself, "And… I'm going to be in HIM…most of all…"

With their spirits as high as they could possibly be at this point, Mario took off, knowing that the center of the castle was coming up soon, along with Count Bleck himself…

. . .

"Psh, the enemies in the last room were nothing," Samus smirked, blowing the smoke off the end of her cannon. "It was like they weren't even there!"

"You know, we might've liked to take some out too," Link retorted with his arms folded.

"But it went by so much faster!"

"Don't worry about the enemies you didn't defeat and worry about the ones you can defeat!" Sonic exclaimed, running into battle with a Yellow Magiblot. It shot a blast at him, naturally, which he avoided and countered with a kick to the head. While he was taking it out, the rest of the group reached the end of the hallway and frowned.

"Dead-end…" grumbled Samus.

"And there's nothing in 3D…" Kirby pondered thoughtfully.

"Well, when that doesn't work…use Tipps!" Link suggested, motioning to the rainbow butterfly. Tippi glanced around, then stared at Mario. Mario gave a small smile and pointed around, trying to locate something. When he hit the end of the wall, Tippi's powers brought the next door into existence.

"Well, we're making progress," Sonic huffed, somewhat annoyed.

"Isn't that a good thing?" Samus retorted back with folded arms.

"Well isn't it kinda ominous that it's slightly…easy?"

"We've just entered the last area of the castle!" Kirby exclaimed. "I'm pretty sure it's bound to get harder…"

Sonic looked to Mario for support, but Mario gave him a lopsided shrug and entered through the door.

. . .

The door led them to a ledge, which Link would have walked off of if Tippi hadn't warned him. Mario looked on and cringed slightly- there was hardly a floor, unless you counted the rapidly bobbing platforms that careened up and down…

"Oh, this should be nice…" Samus commented.

"Dude, this look simple! Just like I was saying!" Sonic cried.

"Yeah, until meteors come crashing through the ceiling to hinder us or some beast comes after us," Kirby pointed out. He pushed off the ledge and started to float. "I should be fine though. I can just float! HA!"

Navigating the room wasn't difficult at all. The only real challenge was that since they were all going at once, someone would occasionally slip and fall. Kirby grabbed anyone who slipped, and Mario was slightly ashamed to admit that he was one of the ones that slipped. At a few points they needed to flip into 3D, but at the rate they were going, the obstacle was more tedious than hazardous.

"Are we at the other side yet?" Sonic questioned, leaping over to the next.

"Obviously since you're still jumping, you're not there yet."

"Quiet, Sam."

"Hey, I was just answering your question."

A tremor suddenly rocked the room, and Sonic went lurching forward. Samus grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him up within the same move. Sonic's eyes were wide, but he said nothing and just continued to get across the room. Kirby beat him to the other side, followed by Mario, Samus, then Link.

"Okay then," Link began, dusting off his clothes. "That wasn't too bad."

"I dunno…something about that unnerves me…" Samus trailed.

Sonic instantly put out his hands. "See? ! That what I was trying to say!"

"We can only press onward, though…" Tippi said, now fluttering above the door. "Let's carry on…"

She was expecting some sort of response from Mario, but oddly he did nothing and just pressed forward.

. . .

The next room was basically the same as the last one, except instead of the floor being separated into elevating columns, ascending and descending platforms were their only methods of getting across.

"It reminds me of the Bitlands," Kirby said softly, hopping onto the first platform.

"Oh yeah, I remember the platforms there…" Link muttered.

When Samus gained a look of confusion, Mario explained that it was just before she had rejoined the group. He then proceeded to jump on the first platform, and like the room before, the team made their way across, Sonic continuing to point out the eerie simplicity until both Kirby and Samus gave him a look. His mouth snapped shut, but by the look on his face, you could tell he wanted to keep yammering about it. Mario, however, was feeling the same way Sonic was. You'd think a guy bent on destroying every world would have his castle more heavily guarded…

"You guys are quiet…" Tippi observed. "It's…unusual, especially for this team."

"What's there to say?" Link asked, shrugging as he landed on the first non-platform floor.

"W-well, I don't know…you all usually think of something…"

"It's surprising we're even still carrying on…" Samus muttered under her breath.

Tippi just backed up a little and lowered her head. "Okay, sorry…I…understand…"

Mario was getting ready to continue on when Kirby stopped him. The pink puff then raised his hands over his head and flipped into 3D. When Mario teleported, he noticed a pipe behind the floor they were standing on. He gave Kirby a questioning look, who returned it with a shrug, before heading down said pipe.

. . .

"What's the purpose of this?" Sonic asked as they arrived in a seemingly empty black room.

"Maybe it's the complications you've been looking for," huffed Samus.

"but there's nothing-" Link started to say, until Mario cut him off by teleporting again. In the third dimension, they discovered a path lined in white leading straight into the wall. It got noticeably smaller as it got closer to the wall…and Mario suddenly had an idea. He poked Link and pointed at the floor.

"What? You want me to use Dottie?"

"Whatever for?" Dottie asked, suddenly livening up when she heard her name. Mario told Link to just use her power, so the Hero of Time shrugged and did so. Team Mario was brought down to microscopic size, and before anyone could ask any questions, Mario walked toward the wall…and found that his suspicions were right.

"There's a tiny path leading under the wall!" Kirby cried. "It was almost impossible to tell!"

"Good catch, Mario," Samus stated, Mario replying with a small grin. Eventually, they reached the end of the path where a hidden room was located, along with a lone chest. Dottie made them grow once again as Sonic hurried to kick open the chest. Mario reached in and pulled out a key, which he smugly spun around on his finger.

. . .

"Okay, so we'll be apparently needing a key soon…" Link deduced as they exited the pipe and returned to the platform room.

"If we ever reach the other side of this area, maybe we'll figure out what it's for," Sonic said, bounding off once more. The rest of the group was quick to follow, jumping across gaps like they were nothing and skipping over the seemingly endless platforms. Samus took out the few Spiky Parabuzzies that hovered about the room, making traversing the area even easier. Finally, they reached the other side on a higher ledge, with the door of escape all locked up. Mario produced the key, stuck in it the lock, and carried on forward.

. . .

"Another hallway…" Kirby moaned, glancing to his left and peering out the windows. "It's all so ominous…I don't like it!"

"The view definitely doesn't help, does it?" Samus asked, glancing out as well. "Nothing but Void…"

"A sky filled with nothing but darkness…" Tippi recited. "Oh, we need to hurry!"

"Yeah, we've needed to hurry since we first started…" Sonic sighed. "And for once, I'm not all that anxious to do so."

They started down the hall, not even bothering to take down the silver Muths that stampeded towards them. With 200 HP, not even Samus felt like shooting them down. They just flipped into 3D, sidestepped all the creatures, and entered into the next room. Tippi really didn't like the vibe she was receiving from the team, and hesitantly followed them through the door.

. . .

Entryways. Lots of them. They lined every wall, and when you went through one and thought it ended, you were wrong. Link defeated an oncoming Koopatrol as Sonic just gaped.

"I think I've found the complications…"

"We're gonna get lost!" Kirby wailed. "So many…options…"

"We are not going to get lost," Link grumbled. "We've come too far to be stopped by something as trivial as getting lost!"

"There has to be some way to navigate through here…" Tippi announced.

"Yeah- trial and error," responded Samus, flipping into 3D and preparing to charge through one of the archways. Mario reached out to stop her, but just as quickly as she left, Link, Kirby, and Sonic dispersed into different directions.

Given the circumstances, Mario smacked his head.

"Don't you think it would have been smarter to stay together?" Tippi called out into the dark.

"We can cover more ground this way!" Sonic's voice rang out, streaks of blue entering and exiting several archways. "Someone's bound to find the way out of here."

"So many options!" yelled Kirby.

"You know I could've scanned the place out and downloaded a virtual floor map, right?" Samus asked.

"But this is more fun!" shouted Link.

Anyway…Mario really wasn't sure what to do. Link was currently playing soccer with turtles, Sonic was beating up pigs, and Samus was wandering off in one of the halls to the left. Mario ran through several archways, hoping to find Kirby, but eventually it felt more like he was running in a circle. Eventually, he ran right into Sonic, who accidentally knocked Mario into the next hall, which was filled with Cursyas.

Mario: O.o;

He quickly backed up to the nearest wall before he touched the green one, only for it to be bonked on the head by Kirby's hammer. Kirby looked up at Mario and grinned broadly.

"Glad you could make it! I found the door, by the way. And a Shooting Star one hall over."

Mario gave Kirby a thumbs up, then whistled for Link, Sonic, and Samus. Sonic arrived almost on the spot, while Link could be heard being attacked by a Koopa. Samus was just plain lost.

"Just walk through the only open doorway, Samus! It's not that hard!" Kirby called.

"Hey, I went to the left!" Samus protested. "I'm the farthest away!"

Samus' raving could continue to be heard among the halls until she stormed into the one Mario, Kirby, and Sonic were in, and the trio quickly shouted her name to get her to come over.

"Now we just need Link," Tippi said.

"LINK! How're ya holding up?" yelled Sonic.

Link arrived moments later, looking rather beat down. He turned to the group and grunted, "How do you think I held up?"

"You got _that_ demolished against a Koopa?" Samus scoffed. "Someone's losing their touch."

"It took me by surprise," Link proclaimed, not saying anymore and disappearing through the door.

. . .

Another maze-room was in store for them, and before anyone ran off, Mario used Thoreau to grab them and pull them all back.

"We need to do this in a non-insane fashion," said Tippi, giving Link a look.

"Whaddya lookin' at me for? It was Samus' idea for once!"

"Just stay together and we'll be fine!" Piccolo exclaimed out of the blue.

"Here we go," Sonic stated, raising his arms and returning to 3D once again. Almost instantly, Mario spotted the first doorway, while Kirby found the one that lead to the left moments later.

"Which one do we go through?"

"Can we split up now?" Link pleaded.

"No, because we only need to go one way." Samus started walking to the right. Link made a face, following her nevertheless. In the following hall, the two of them quickly found themselves in the middle of a pack of Pink Fuzzies.

"I think we've dealt with Fuzzies enough for one day," Kirby commented, whacking one into the wall.

"At least they can't suck away our FP anymore," added Sonic. "Because we don't have any!"

"What's FP?" Tippi asked.

"It tells you how big of an attack you can use, in a sense," Samus explained. "In these dimensions, however, apparently we have no limit to what we can do."

Mario: uh-huh!

"Just another one of the differences we've faced on this adventure…"

"What have your previous adventures been like?"

"Last time wasn't really an adventure- just a vacation gone horribly awry," Link explained, finding a Super Shroom Shake in a nearby chest. He made a face, yet put it in his bag for safe keeping. "We went to a rundown town, a flower paradise, a really big and beautiful forest, a fighting arena, a creepy town, an island, rode a train, even went to the moon…and entered a thousand-year old palace buried underground where we killed off a shadow demon. It was fun."

"The huge shadow demon was known as the Shadow Queen!" added Kirby. "I remember so many things about that adventure…"

Seeing as they had hit a dead end, Mario lead them back to the first hallway, but they were still occupied with their memories.

"I remember meeting my Soul Partner for the first time…" Sonic trailed, pulling out his Spike plushie and staring at it. "I remember how I felt when I became champion of the Glitz Pit too…it was such a rush…"

"I'll never forget riding the Excess Express," Samus recalled with a smirk. "It was kind of nice…plus it went better than I expected!"

"We were kidnapped by Smorgs!" Link cried.

"Mario and I saved you, didn't we?"

"I remember when I met Vivian!" Kirby said with a sigh. "She was so sad…but I cheered her up! And that was when Mario was turned into a shadow and you guys were paling around with Doopliss-"

"We told you not to remind us," muttered Link and Sonic. Mario glaced at them over his shoulder and received sheepish grins in return. The plumber sighed and shook his head, walked all the way down to the other end of the hall, and found two more doorways. He chose to take the left one.

"Besides the train, I think my favorite part was when I ambushed the boss battle at Keelhaul Key," Samus grinned. "That was pretty epic."

"You should all know what my favorite part was, even though you weren't there yet…" Link trailed softly. Sonic blinked, then made a slight face.

"Darn Boggly Woods…"

"It'll be one of my only two regrets, never getting to marry her…"

"And what's the other regret?" Thudley questioned.

Link frowned deeply. "Not inviting my friends to the wedding."

Mario continued his way to the left, avoiding the assorted enemies scattered throughout the halls. His exploration eventually paid off, as he had found the next door. Smiling in spite of himself, Mario headed on through.

As he did, the ground violently shook under one of the Void's many tremors that were happening way too often now…

. . .

On the other side was hopefully the last maze room, but the group wasn't going to place any bets. They entered the first archway they saw, leading to the right, where they were instantly ambushed by a Red Magiblot. Mario took care of it with help from Kirby, while the other three kept an eye out for any more foes.

Tippi was apparently still eager for conversation, because she asked, "How did you guys all meet?"

"It's a long, long story…" groaned Sonic.

"That really doesn't need to be mentioned," grunted Samus.

"But if you really wanna know," Link began, following Mario down the hall. "Me, Kirby, Sonic, and Samus were already teleporters, traveling around, hoping to see every world out there. Apparently words of our adventures reached Princess Peach, and she gave us special invitations…"

"She wanted to have the first ever multi-world party," Kirby explained.

"Yeah. So we rounded up a few friends we met on our travels and eventually went to the Mushroom Kingdom…at the party was where we met Mario! We had heard of him, for sure, but he hadn't heard of us like Peach had…"

Tippi turned to Mario, who nodded to confirm its truth. He went to the left, only to run into a huge Gawbus. As he and Sonic started to attack it, Kirby added more to the story.

"So yeah, we went to the party, but then Bowser attacked! He took Peach, Zelda, and Amy, and we pursued him up the stairs, where he was currently fighting Mario…he knocked Mario out of the window, then used the Star Rod to separate us across the Kingdom…"

"But Mario found us all and helped us save the day," Samus confirmed.

"Yup, he saved Link from a baby Koopa, me from dangling over a volcano with a violent Piranha Plant, Kirby from the desert, and Samus from a really, really chubby Shy Guy that goes crazy for cake."

"Kooper has a video of him going crazy on his phone," Kirby pointed out.

"Mario really did all of that?" Tippi asked, impressed.

"Yup! If it wasn't for Mario, we wouldn't be here now," Link stated.

"We would've have gotten to go on vacation!" Kirby cheered. "Even if it was for evil purposes!"

"We wouldn't have gotten this far…" added Samus.

"Well," Sonic started, throwing an arm around Mario's shoulders. "I s'pose we should thank him, no?"

"THANKS MARIO!" cried Kirby.

Mario: ^^

And with that, Tippi accepted that as a decent answer to her question and urged the group to keep going. They wove through the archways, fighting foes, finding a treasure chest, and experiencing several cases of backtracking. Mario forged through the room, making his way to the right by going left various times, until they found the door tucked away in the farthest reaches of the room.

. . .

"The stairs lead to doom…" Link huffed, glaring with hate at the tall stairway placed before them. If anything, it was going to lead to the last room in the castle…

The one that held Count Bleck.

As Mario began the ascent, the adventure he had been on replayed in his mind at an exceedingly fast pace, as if some memory was needed to help him during the fight for fate. But no hidden message came to him, just his own thoughts and memories flooding back.

He recalled how thrilled he was to find his brother, even though it was in the "afterlife".

He remembered the exuberance that filled them when they awoke Peach and saved her. Again.

He envisioned fighting Bowser the second time, even though he knew the brute king was merely confused, rather than just trying to beat him.

He reminisced about fighting Bowser the first time, and how they had begun to work together.

He remembered finding Peach the first time, and feeling proud when she proved herself useful, even if she didn't think so.

Mario blinked, remembering how he felt when he first began his adventure, when he first stepped into Lineland with only Tippi at his side. He was afraid that the fate of every last world was resting on his shoulders, and he wasn't sure if he could handle it…

But then he found his friends, one by one, and slowly realized he wouldn't have to fight any battle alone.

At the same time, one by one, he lost his friends, until it was almost like he was right back to where he started. Alone with the world's safety in his hands. Of course, he had his team beside him, but team wise…

It was one team to stand alone.

When he reached the top of the staircase that held the final door to the final boss, Mario decided that maybe one team was all he needed.

Whether it was or not, that was all he had.

"You ready for this, Mario?" Link asked, after hitting a ? block and eating an Ultra Shroom. "You look a bit hazy…"

Mario assured Link that he was fine, then glanced around. The Pixls were ready, Tippi was especially ready (or extremely _not_ ready) , and Samus, Sonic, and Kirby were ready as well.

This was it. The last moment…the point of no return…they were about to walk into a battle with everything at stake. Mario cautiously put his hand on the door, took a deep breath, and pushed it open.

. . .

"I feel…I feel something very, very powerful…" Tippi whispered once they were beyond the door.

"That doesn't surprise me, Tipps…" Link trailed.

"Yeah, you always sense things!" Kirby added.

"But…this time…could it be the Chaos Heart?"

"Bleh heh heh heh…"

The final door had led to the final one in the castle: the one where Count Bleck and his cronies once held their meetings. But now, only the Count himself remained, perched on one of the platforms and staring down at the group like an albino bat. Only by his side was Nastasia, who you could tell was looking perplexed, despite the serious look she always donned.

"I see you've come at last!" Count Bleck began, grinning sinisterly with his arms spread wide, as if to welcome them. "So you really are THE heroes of the Light Prognosticus."

"Count…Bleck…" Tippi strained to say.

"More like Clown Bleck," snickered Sonic under his breath.

"And yet…you are far too late to stop the Dark Prognosticus and me…Count Bleck! All worlds will soon end. Come to grips with that now, for you cannot stop it. I suggest you make yourself comfortable and enjoy this one, final spectacle!"

"But…why?" Tippi pressed, disappointment coating her tone. "Do you really want to destroy everything? Why would you do this? ! How COULD you do this? !"

"Count Bleck does not care about any world!" he spat, casting out a single hand. "They are all meaningless. Better that I destroy them! Better yet, I shall make it as if they never existed at all!"

"We won't let you!" Samus shouted, taking aim at Count Bleck with her cannon.

"You've messed with the wrong heroes, pal!" exclaimed Sonic.

"Yeah, we're not just heroes, but we're heroes that know just how much all worlds mean to everybody!" Kirby threw in.

"Besides…we have our own worlds to protect…" finished Link.

Mario: Oh yeah!

"If the worlds have no meaning…" Tippi began slowly, sounding like she was going to cry. "…was our meeting meaningless as well? Answer me, Blumiere!"

Count Bleck's confident look suddenly shattered, and he hid his face beneath the brim of his hat.

"You know the answer, dear Timpani…Count Bleck does not have to tell you…but the hour has grown too late. You should know that by now."

His malice was gone, and it was almost as if he was trying to give out some hidden warning.

"Blumiere…my love, Blumiere…or rather, Count Bleck…"

Link blinked, then did a double take. "Wait a second…Tipps is in love with the bad guy? !"

"Traitor!" shrieked Kirby, until Samus restrained him.

"The only way we can stop this is to defeat you…and that is exactly why Team Mario and I have come here…to stop this."

Count Bleck's moment of weakness vanished as he threw back his head and cackled to the Void-filled sky.

"BLEH HEH HEH HEH HEH! BLECK! Very well! But I will also do what I must! Count Bleck is the deleter of worlds! My fate is written in the Dark Prognosticus!" his eyes narrowed dangerously. "Do not think for a moment that I will hesitate to strike you down. ALL NOW ENDS!"

"Blumiere…my Blumiere…" moaned Tippi.

"Apparently the Blumiere you knew and loved is gone, Tipps," Sonic said with a slight frown.

"But…no…just, no…"

Count Bleck wrapped his cape around him and stared at the ground as he addressed Nastasia. "Leave me, Nastasia. I will deal with this team ALONE."

Nastasia broke out into shock for a second time that encounter. "B-But…"

"Count Bleck demands it! I will not say it again…"

Nastasia's heart sank and she hung her head. "…yeah, right away, Count…"

Without another word, she teleported out of the room, leaving Count Bleck alone to potentially get his butt kicked. Count Bleck gave a firm nod and turned to Mario with a smirk. "Are you prepared, hero? Our duel will be worthy of the last clash the worlds will ever see!"

Mario adjusted his cap and silently pointed forward, his teammates charging at the Count at he began to hover about the room. Sonic was the first to charge, only to be sucked up into a mini-Void Bleck conjured up.

"What in the- HEY!"

When it dispersed, it flung Sonic away, and Count Bleck hovered off to another part of the room. Mario started climbing up the platforms, hoping to reach Bleck, or at least cut him off. Link, Kirby, and Samus caught on as well and spread out. Mario was the first one to get close enough to strike, but fear flashed across his face when the rainbow barrier appeared around the count.

It was the same one that had prevented Mario from attacking him so long ago.

Quickly realizing that there was no way to damage Count Bleck, it instantly dawned on Mario that he and his friends were in deep trouble. Samus was able to hit Count Bleck from anywhere in the room, but her missiles and charge beams glanced off the shield the villain possessed and reflected back toward the group.

"What…what's going on?"

"He's protected!" Kirby cried, ducking under a missile while jumping over a black hole blast.

"The power of the Chaos Heart…" Tippi muttered weakly.

"There's nothing we can do? !" Sonic yelped, flying into Bleck several times with no luck.

"So sorry to disappoint, says Count Bleck," the count chuckled, swatting Sonic away with his cane. Sonic went tumbling into Link, and Bleck cast a black hole in their direction. As they succumbed to that, Kirby made another attempt to break through, no matter how much Mario and Tippi protested. Bleck easily saw Kirby coming and shot a black hole in his direction. The star warrior became caught up in it as well, and Mario and Tippi wearily exchanged glances.

"How laughable!" cackled Count Bleck. Is that all the heroism you can muster? Let me show you true power!"

"Does this guy think he's Shadow now or something? True power, seeking revenge for the loss of a girl…eerie coincidence."

"He IS being shielded by the Chaos Heart!" Tippi cried. "Our attacks are useless, and all we can do now is simply stay alive…"

"But where's the point in that? It's a lose-lose situation," Samus stated glumly. "We have to stop Bleck to stop the Void, but since we can't stop Bleck, he'll end up destroying us, if not the Void itself…"

"You are correct!" Bleck bellowed, enveloping everyone into another black hole, this one stronger than before. The heroes all suffered, Tippi screaming their names before they were cast at the group, tumbling down harshly. Their clothes were torn, any fur was out of place, they all had some sort of scratches, and they all looked like they wouldn't be able to hang on much longer. Bleck knew this and continued the onslaught of attacks. Even if they wanted to, Team Mario couldn't fight back, and they soon found themselves constantly being blown back by black hole attacks.

"WHY? !" Tippi shouted to the sky, torn between Count Bleck and the dear heroes she had become all too close to.

"Dear, Dear Timpani…" Count Bleck trailed in a low key voice. "I already cannot be stopped. The Void cannot be stopped. If these heroes wish for me to end their games beforehand, then so be it."

"No! Don't!"

"I said I wouldn't hesitate to strike down upon them. They have tested my patience and my power."

"What happened to you…" Tippi whispered through tears as Count Bleck struck down on Team Mario once more. Mario found his overalls torn, his hat backwards, and a small piece of his mustache gone. Weakly glancing up, he noticed Kirby covered in "battle scars", Samus' suit scratched up and sparking, a few of Sonic's quills askew and one shoe buckle undone, and Link's heroic garb with several tears. And no one seemed to be able to get back up.

"Wow…is it a lack of will to be on the defensive, a sudden decrease in our abilities, or are Count Bleck's attacks really packing a punch?" moaned Kirby.

"Possibly all three," groaned Sonic, going limp. "I'd rather have an invincible Bowser than this guy…"

Count Bleck decided that this was the moment to finish them off and teleported to the top of the room. He glanced down at the pitiful heroes and raised his hands once again. With the glance, he shook his head, scoffing.

"You can't so much as tug on the cape of Count Bleck! You have failed!"

"Shut up!" Samus roared, lifting her cannon to shoot, only to drop it quickly.

"Bleck! I expected more potency from the heroes of the prophecy!" His hands rose even higher, a black hole appearing to exist behind his cape. "I will watch your games end, and then your precious worlds will end soon after!"

Mario, Link, Sonic, Kirby, Samus, and Tippi's eyes all widened upon seeing a huge black hole being conjured up- not anywhere near as big as The Void, but it was still an impressive size. It was a wonder that it managed to fit in the room.

"Well…we're dead meat," Samus said bluntly. However, a little less bluntly, she added, "It was nice knowing you guys."

"Why does it have to end this way? !" Kirby wailed, feeling himself slowly being pulled up from the force of the black hole.

"Remember when we thought we failed after we lost Sammer's Kingdom?" Sonic asked, his eyes slightly shimmering. "Well, this is way worse…"

"Is this…the end?" Tippi gaped sadly.

"Well, since it is probably our turn to die…" Link trailed, not bothering to move off the floor. "I just want to say, there's no one I'd rather go down fighting with."

Mario: I couldn't have said it better myself.

* * *

**Well, there WOULD be a Boss Weekend next week...you know, IF the Heroes had some sort of miracle, but what're the odds of THAT? Huh? Huh? Huh- *smacked upside the head***


	56. Unpredictable Predictability

Super Paper Mario X

Chapter 56: Unpredictable Predictability

"Is this…the end?" Tippi gaped sadly.

"Well, since it is probably our turn to die…" Link trailed, not bothering to move off the floor. "I just want to say, there's no one I'd rather go down fighting with."

Mario: I couldn't have said it better myself.

_"Oh, COME ON! You're giving up already?"_

It was a dream. It had to be. Because it wasn't possible.

Mario's eyes slowly looked up to see Bowser standing before him, arms folded and a smirk plastered to his face. Somehow, just the sight of him gave the team enough strength to stand back up.

"Come on! Man up a little. You never give up this easily when you attack MY castle!" Bowser continued.

"Even though we really wish you would…" Ganondorf added, walking up behind him.

"And do you know how embarrassing it would be for you guys to surrender to such a fool?" Eggman asked, joining the group as well.

"VILLAINS!" Kirby wailed happily, glomping Bowser. "I don't think I've ever been so happy to see you in my life!"

"You're never happy to see us," Ganondorf huffed.

"Well, we certainly are now," Link said, slightly grinning.

Upon seeing the arrival of Team BEG, Bleck stopped creating the large black hole and just looked on.

"Bleh heh heh heh heh heh…so you ARE alive, then!"

As if on cue, Peach, Zelda, Amy, and Luigi walked up as well, and Team Mario broke out into more cheers. Link nearly tackled Zelda to the ground in a hug, Amy ran up to Sonic (and, for this case, Sonic was going to allow it), Samus patted Peach, and Mario and Luigi had a brotherly stare-off. Mario then turned to Peach and smiled, before the princess glared up at Bleck and shouted, "We'd never let you destroy everything, you awful count!"

"Yeah, you tell him, Princess!" added Luigi, striking a battle pose. "W-We aren't going to let you get away with this. We aren't givining up! You'll never win!"

"You're all here…but how?" Tippi whispered.

"We…fell through the floor before we got flattened by the ceiling," Bowser began.

"I guess being hefty has its advantages!" chuckled Eggman.

"Yeah, just don't take too much pride in being fat," Ganondorf muttered. "Though it did save our lives…"

"We fell down too, and I landed on Bowser!" Peach exclaimed. "It was a surprisingly soft landing…"

"I landed on Ganondorf," Zelda explained nervously, Link glaring at the king of evil from behind her back. "I assure you, Link, I got off of him rather quickly."

"Not as fast as I got off of Eggman," Amy groaned. "Brr!"

"I don't even know what happened Bro., I just remember pushing my team outta the way of something, and waking up to the girls finding me out cold," added Luigi. "Speaking of, where IS my team?"

"We thought they'd be with you…" Sonic trailed. Luigi's face suddenly twisted into fear.

"So they're _not_ with you? !"

"M-Maybe they'll show up later?" Amy suggested, though it was obvious that Luigi was still panicking. "But, most of us are here now, so let's do this!"

"You heard her!" Bowser called up to Bleck. "Now you've got to deal with all of us!"

Count Bleck amusedly placed a hand to his chin. "Bleh heh heh heh heh heh…"When the four heroes are united…" It is all as foretold."

"But…shouldn't there be "four teams of heroes"?" Zelda wondered.

"And Team Luigi isn't exactly complete…" Kirby gulped.

"Maybe Luigi is all we need though," Peach said hopefully, carefully eyeing Count Bleck.

"I'd feel better if I knew what happened to them…" Luigi trembled.

"I'm sure we all would, Luigi," Link stated, patting his shoulder.

Suddenly, a flashing light lit up the room and blinded everyone, thought it plainly affected Count Bleck the most. He removed his hand from his chin and looked…surprised.

"What? What is this? What is now happening to…Count Bleck? !"

"We're glowing!" cried Amy, glancing down at herself. Everyone glanced down as well, and sure enough, they were all shimmering with light. Team Mario, however, was floating slightly above the ground, feeling their energy become replenished and their strength being returned.

To answer all their questions, the eight Pure Hearts suddenly appeared in the room and flew up to Count Bleck. They caused another round of flashing lights, and with a sickening crack, they not only removed the barrier of the Chaos Heart, but weakened Count Bleck as well.

"Hooray! The Pure Hearts weren't totally useless!" cheered Kirby.

"Bleh heh heh…huh? ! My barrier…is gone? !"

"Four heroes unite, their hope burns forth light to shatter the walls of blight", Tippi recited. "Just like Merlee said…"

"I get it…we weren't supposed to fight Count Bleck alone…" Sonic realized. "That's why we couldn't hurt him!"

"But now we can," Samus said devilishly, charging up her cannon once again.

"So be it…says Count Bleck! But don't celebrate just yet. Your precious worlds aren't safe until my last breath! Let us finally end this! Now the true battle begins…with Count Bleck!"

He teleported closer to the heroes, then fired at will with his black hole blasts. The heroes all quickly rolled out of the way and charged at Bleck, but Bleck flew out of their reach.

At least, everyone but Luigi's reach.

Furious at the thought of his lost friends, Luigi took aim directly under Count Bleck, then shot upwards like a rocket.

"Get a taste of LUIGI!" he shouted, striking the count with the top of his head. Bleck spiraled out of the air, slightly stunned at his new exposure to attacks, which gave the others chances to attack as well. Bowser jumped onto the platform closest to Bleck and let loose with his flames, causing Bleck to recoil into Kirby's Final Cutter. Kirby quickly swapped to his hammer and gave Bleck a whack, sending him towards Amy. Amy pulled out her own hammer and smacked Bleck upwards- where Sonic intercepted with a Spin Dash.

"No! This is not…what was written!" Bleck cried, falling toward the ground again.

"DIN'S FIRE!" Zelda roared, jumped behind him and blasting large plumes of fire in his direction. After burning him, Zelda blew him off with Farore's Wind, sending him back into the air where Luigi super jumped into him once again. Samus and Eggman fired with their missiles, until Bleck teleported out of the line of fire, cast out a hand, and shouted "ENOUGH!"

He pointed down at the group, a huge black hole slowly swirling into existence. Instinctively, several of the fighters began to run away, but Ganondorf, Peach, and Samus began to get caught in the massive black/purple span.

"It's nice to finish what I've started…" Bleck mused to himself. Luigi grimaced, glowering up at the Count, and slowly started to air walk his way toward him. However, the black hole disappeared, and everyone fell out of the air. Luigi, however, grabbed a hold of a nearby ledge and pulled himself up. He was so busy glancing down at Ganondorf, Peach, and Samus who were awfully dizzy, that when Mario suddenly appeared behind him, he let out a yelp and nearly jumped off.

"Sheesh, give a guy a warning!"

Mario: I never do that.

He then grabbed Luigi's wrists, gave him a nod, then sprung off the platform. While Count Bleck was busy fending off Sonic and trying to attack Peach, who was safely under her umbrella, Mario jumped at him and brought Luigi down on his head. Bleck stopped fighting and started staggering about, giving Ganondorf the perfect chance to leap next to him and sock him in the face with a purple fist.

"Not so tough without your stupid shield, huh?" Link snickered, hacking away at the count.

Tippi had looked away for most of the fight, but Peach, since she wasn't really doing any in particular, walked over to her Soul Partner and comforted her.

"I know he needs to be felled if we want to save the worlds…" Tippi whispered, trying hard not to cry. "But we've just met again, and I don't that to be ruined by me witnessing his defeat!"

"I'm so sorry, Tippi…" Peach said quietly, allowing the butterfly to rest in her palm. "I don't know what to do. Bleck is getting weaker and weaker by the moment…"

Count Bleck was panting like crazy. It was a miracle that he was still drawing breath. He barely had time to breathe between the sword hacks, the three variations fire, the punches, the kicks, the spin dashes, the hammers, the lasers, the super jumps…

And the missiles.

"BONSAI!" Samus cheered, standing on the edge of Eggman's battle mech as he drove up to the count. She fired endless ammo at the count while Eggman flung out his turrets and launched several explosives as well.

"Yeah, how's that?"

"Hmph, how's this?" Count Bleck countered, lifting his hands and causing time to slow down.

"Awwwww maaaaaan!" Sonic complained. "You've goooooottaaaaaa be kiiiiidding me!"

Bleck easily maneuvered through the heroes, watching as they chased after him with three times the reduced speed- except for Sonic, who was only slowed down to what would be considered a normal pace. He kicked and punched at Bleck, backing him up into Luigi who delivered a Knuckles-style uppercut. Bleck growled, then quickly shot black holes at anyone that was still stuck in slow motion. Luckily, time decided to speed back up to normal, and everyone was able to dodge.

Count Bleck surrounded himself with red magic, which Mario assumed made himself faster. This was proven slightly correct, as the count charged into Samus and Eggman, knocking Samus off the vehicle and Eggman out of it. Mario then saw Bleck try to make a getaway, so he used Thoreau to grab his cape and pull him close.

Mario: Hi!

"Unhand me at once!"

Mario: Okie Dokie!

He smirked as he tossed Count Bleck upwards, allowing Luigi to spring up and hit him with a super jump once more.

"There's more where that came from!" Luigi called, landing back on the ground.

"Farore's Wind!" Zelda shouted, blowing Bleck toward Bowser, Link, Kirby, and Amy. Kirby and Amy hammered at him rapidly, Link snuck in a few hits from his sword, and when they showed mercy, Bowser unleashed a mountain of flames at the count.

"Can't…hold on…" Bleck trailed wearily, slowly sinking to the floor. Tippi was afraid of overkill as Sonic, Samus, Ganondorf, and Eggman continued to attack. She especially cringed when both Mario and Luigi jumped over his head and kicked him straight at the ground.

That was all it took.

Bleck found himself losing control of the Chaos Heart, the heart of darkness trying to escape away from his being. Bleck stayed suspended in the air, trying to fight off the dark power within him rather than try to gather it up again. He slowly floated higher and higher until he spat out a disgusted "BLEEEH!"

The Chaos Heart continued to ascend…whereas Bleck found himself toppling back towards the ground again. The heroes all watched as the Chaos Heart deathly rose and fell before approached it slowly…

Count Bleck teleported to the right of the heart, but…something was lost about him.

"Ex…excellent…" he huffed, sprawled on the ground. His hat was dusted with dirt and torn slightly, his monocle was cracked, his cape was ripped in several places, but the biggest different about Bleck was that he wasn't hellbent on destruction anymore. His eyes were softer, and not raging with the red hot hatred they once held. Tippi noticed this and slowly floated closer to him.

"Ummm…Count?" Nastasia asked, suddenly reappearing next to him. She looked as if she was dying to say something.

"You have won…" the count continued, completely disregarding Nastasia. "Now finish Count Bleck…Dispatch me and the Chaos Heart will disappear. The prophecy will be undone…"

Why does it have to end like this…" Tippi whimpered, floating closer to her long lost love. Everyone was so engrossed with Tippi that they didn't notice Nastasia staring up fretfully above and behind them all, frozen with fear.

"Timpani…when you vanished, I searched long for you," Bleck began to explain through panting breaths. I never gave up looking…I searched and searched…" he shook his head. "But I never found you. Without you, the world held no meaning or joy…So I used the forbidden prophecy of the Tribe of Ancients to end all worlds. I wanted to destroy everything that had taken you away from me…"

"Now you know how I felt when I thought I lost you…" Link whispered, taking Zelda's hand, with the princess watching Tippi and Bleck with shimmering eyes.

"But I am here now…" Tippi started to say, flying even closer to Bleck. "No one can keep us apart anymore…don't you see?"

"It is too late. Count Bleck has done so much evil…It must end. Just knowing that you are still alive…and knowing that the world you still live in will continue…it gives me peace. I do not have long to live. You must end my game before The Void destroys all…"

"But…we're finally together again-"

"COUNT, LOOK OUT!"

Before anyone had time to react, Nastasia was suddenly blasted down by a familiar-looking yellow and purple spark, the assistant to Count Bleck falling to the ground.

Her glasses landed not too far away from her.

"Na-Nastasia!" Count Bleck gasped.

"No! We're too freaking LATE!"

Everyone's heads jerked to Malon, Tails, Meta Knight, and Knuckles running into the room, crying out when they saw the state Nastasia was in. But there was no time for a reunion with them, for someone else had dared to arrive as well.

"Silly assistant! Absorbing my attack to protect him? What an adorably hopeless gesture."

Dimentio arrived on the scene, floating dangerously above the Chaos Heart. He glanced down at Nastasia and shook his head. "I was just about to give him the everlasting peace he so desperately wants!"

"Dimentio? !" Tippi cried. "You're…alive? !"

"Not just alive," grunted Knuckles.

"He's the real bad guy," Meta Knight stated.

"He's been pulling strings this entire time- even before we even knew anything like this would happen!" cried Tails.

"We've got to stop him, now!" Malon pleaded, running toward Luigi and hugging him desperately. "You're in danger…we're ALL in danger…"

* * *

**And thus begins the start of the final Boss Weekend...here's to hoping it'll be epic. ^^**


	57. Tippi and Count Bleck

Super Paper Mario X

Chapter 57: Tippi and Count Bleck

"Ah ha ha ha ha ha…" Dimentio chuckled. "This is my moment!"

"Wh-what's going on? !" Luigi wailed.

"It's a conspiracy!" Knuckles cried.

"I demand answers!" Bowser roared, and Tippi gave him a look regardless of the situation. Dimentio just continued to float over the Chaos Heart, looking particularly proud of himself.

"Even if the count dies, the Chaos Heart won't disappear if_ I_ continue to control it! But I needed the power of the Pure Hearts to defeat him…I couldn't do that on my own. So I had you do all the sweaty labor for me. And you even used your Pure Hearts to defeat Count Bleck!"

"Well, that was kind of unintentional…" Kirby trailed nervously.

"If they make greeting cards to thank people for helping with evil plans, I owe you one."

"What are you saying? !" Tippi demanded to know. Dimentio's tone didn't have its usual joking manner- it was deathly serious.

"I'm saying that you no longer have value to me, so I'm ending your games," his eyes narrowed mischievously- in a very bad way. "They're all yours, Mr. L."

"NO!" Malon shrieked, struggling to hold onto Luigi. Everyone gained bewildered looks as Luigi took a few steps forward.

"Huh? !" Luigi guffawed, staring at himself. "Uh…oh. AAAAAACK! Why am I flapping my arms? ! Oh, this…this isn't good!"

"Anything you'd like to say, Tails?" Knuckles grumbled, arms folded and staring the fox down. Tails' ears dropped, and he didn't say anything until he was in front of Luigi.

"L-Luigi…and everyone else, I suppose…" his eyes started shimmering. "…Luigi's Mr. L."

EPIC GASP.

"What? !"

"I would have never guessed!"

"NO WAY!"

"Luigi's Mr. L?"

"What a plot twist!"

"Who saw that coming? I didn't!"

"There isn't even any TRACE of a resemblance!"

Dimentio snapped his fingers, and a Floro Sprout suddenly sprouted on Luigi's head. Within the same snap, Luigi's blue overalls were quickly evolved to a black jumpsuit, his gloves darkened to gray, a mask covered his eyes, and the "L" on his hat flipped backward and turned back.

"I AM MR. L!" Fear was evident in Mr. L's eyes, as if Luigi was trying to resist, but Mr. L was still there…and not just that, but being controlled by Dimentio. "Master Dimentio…what is your bidding?"

"When…did this happen? !" exclaimed Peach.

"It started when Meta Knight was sucked into The Void…" Tails dully explained, staring at the floor. "Nastasia found him…and hypnotized him…and turned him into Sir MK. Then Malon was teleported into the castle, where Sir MK found her, and went to go report to Nastasia. While he did that, Malon found Luigi, and the two of them worked to find a way to escape…"

"But they apparently didn't," Knuckles added in.

"They reached a dead end, and Nastasia and Sir MK cornered them. Knuckles and I, we were on the ceiling, watching everything…we should've done something, it's my fault, I'm so sorry…" Tails strained to go on. "Only Luigi should've been brainwashed, but Malon caught sight of Nastasia's powers as well and became Lass M…"

"We apparently tried to find help," Knuckles intervened. "But Nastasia sent Mr. L, Lass M, and Sir MK after us…"

"Only Luigi should've been hypnotized…" Tails repeated again. "Because he's the true Man in Green, the one that decides which Prognosticus is correct…but Nastasia didn't want any free thinkers in the castle, so they came after us…they injured Knuckles, knocked him unconscious, and turned him into Master K…"

"But what about you, Tails?" Sonic asked.

"Yes, please care to tell all of the tale, Captain T. I'll postpone my victory just to listen," Dimentio added. Tails shot him an acid look, then turned back to Sonic.

"I was turned into Captain T…but something went wrong when I was hypnotized. I wasn't completely gone…it was like I was someone with someone else's memories…and you have no idea how terrifying that is…" Tails collapsed to the ground, clenching his fists. "They were all so cruel to me…and it got worse as I slowly and completely regained my memories…eventually I started getting these _headaches_, as if to tell me that I was stuck as someone I wasn't. Then, finally…when Dimentio tried to kill us in The World of Nothing…my memories completely returned, and I tried to save us all…I tried to call you guys…but it was too late…"

"And I sent them to The Underwhere, where unfortunately he was the only one to recall everything, and I mean _everything_," Dimentio said flatly.

"I was only half gone when Nastasia brainwashed me, I believe…which is why I was only half brainwashed…" Hethen pointed an accusing finger at Luigi/Mr. L and hissed. "He…He punched me in the face! I don't know what hurt worse, the fact that he did it…or that fact that it was really Luigi…"

Everything about the mysterious Team Mr. L slowly fell into place, and any remaining questions any one had were quickly answered. Sonic rushed over to comfort Tails, Malon continued to somehow try and break Luigi away from his evil side, and Dimentio applauded.

"Very nice, Captain T-"

"MY NAME IS TAILS!"

"-but let me finish shedding some light. You see, when I sent Luigi here, I planted a seed in the fertile soil of his unconscious…and now that seed has sprouted spectacularly!" he lifted the Chaos Heart above his head with glee. "Mr. L…run along now and get ready for your big entrance."

Mr. L nodded, pushed Malon away, and trotted off. Link and Meta Knight helped her off the ground while everyone continued to stare Dimentio down with hatred.

"Now, ladies and gentlemen, get ready for the greatest magic show you'll ever see!"

Dimentio tossed the Chaos Heart into the air, where it created a large black hole that began to suck up Mr. L. Everyone cried out for Luigi, but their shouts were silenced quickly after seeing what was taking place.

A white collar appeared out of thin air, followed by a Dimentio-styled outfit. Two legs sprouted from the bottom wearing Luigi's boots, along with two arms and hands that had Luigi's gloves. But worst of all…the fiendish creation had Luigi/Mr. L's head.

"GREEEEN!"

"What in the name of all that is good and holy? !"

"LUIGI? !" everyone shouted.

"The Dark Prognosticus says he's the ideal host for the power of the Chaos Heart, which is why we only needed him in the first place. And now I'm going to add my own power into this spicy little concoction."

"No…STOP!" Bleck ordered. Dimentio didn't even reply to him- he just teleported Bleck, Tippi, and Nastasia to wherever.

"Count Bleck! You looked so tattered and pathetic, I nearly forgot about you," Dimentio sighed dully, returned back to business. "I'll squeeze the life out of you later. Just wait over in that dimension over there, K? Great."

"When I get my oversized hands on you-" Knuckles growled.

"You're going to pay for everything you've done!" shouted Zelda. "Between Bleck and Tippi, Tails, Nastasia, Luigi, and this whirlpool of Chaos…"

"We'll personally make sure that you're royally screwed," Samus finished dangerously. Dimentio ignored all their threats and floated up to the Luigi/Mr. L head.

Sickening to say, it ate Dimentio, and quickly absorbed his power. Dimentio's voice rang out the strongest as it said, "Now the Chaos Heart is mine! I will use this to destroy all worlds…and create perfect news ones! So, shall we get started? Now I have all I need…to become the king of all worlds!"

And thus, the battle against Super Dimentio commenced.

"Okay, so you were the group of pathetic bad guys that we fought way back?" Ganondorf asked Meta Knight, who gave a solemn nod.

"Yeah. We only found out just before you did, because Tails chose then to reveal anything."

"I apologized for not saying earlier!" Tails retorted sharply. "I thought it would be for the best…"

"Then, after we thought we lost Luigi, we found Nastasia…" Malon explained. "We told her all about Dimentio, and she saved us…she brought us to the bottom of the stairs that lead up to this room while she warned the other minions then arrived in here."

"We were too late to save her from Dimentio's blow, however…"Knuckles trailed sadly.

"Well, now that you've cleared up about where've you've been, we've got a clown to clobber," Link stated, running at the giant combination. Mario, who was still dazed from everything he had recently witnessed, did happen to notice that the platforms came to life, with faces and the ability to move back and forth.

And apparently spit things at them.

Only Peach remained safe from the platform's projectiles, because she was the only one who bothered to put up her defenses. In fact, she was safe from everything Super Dimentio did as well. Everyone, including Zelda and Amy, were busy throwing everything they had at the monster, but like Count Bleck had originally been, Super Dimentio was invincible.

"There is nothing you can do!" Dimentio laughed. "And now it is time for the destruction to begin…let it begin with you, as you wallow in helplessness like upside-down turtles!"

"Hey! I find that offensive!" shouted Bowser. "Just wait until I can Bowserize you!"

"L-POWER!" This time, it was Mr. L/Luigi's voice that was dominant, and Malon let out a squeak of surprise. Mario clenched his fist as he glowered at Super Dimentio, somehow feeling as if there worlds were calmly falling apart, one by one…

**Flopside-**

Merlon and Nolrem were still waiting outside the dimensional door that led into The Void, and into Castle Bleck…waiting anxiously for the heroes' return. Or, at least, just for peace to be returned to the worlds.

"The worlds tremble…" Merlon trailed, his face expressionless. "Has the end finally come?"

"…how unfortunate." was all that Nolrem muttered, just before the composition of the world began to go crazy.

**Yold Town-**

Old Man Watchitt, his grandson, and the rest of the town stood outside, watching the Void grow tremendously. Everyone but Watchitt was currently panicking. Just like in Flopside, the composition of the world began to go crazy as well.

. . .

The same thing happened for Flint Cragley and his crew back at Downtown of Crag, space, the Bitlands, and even what limited inhabitants were in Gloam Valley. The same thing happened for worlds all across the universe, ranging from worlds the group hadn't even heard of, to the heroes' very own worlds.

Sonic's friends back home prayed for a safe return, the inhabitants of Hyrule begged to the Goddesses to not let their kingdom fall, and in fact, Toad, who had been the one to bring Mario and Luigi into all of this, was watching the sky and hoping and praying that things wouldn't get worse. He felt the world start to fall apart around him, along with the ground shaking several times.

. . .

"We have to do something!" Tippi continued to declare, as she, Bleck, and Nastasia were trapped in Dimension D. "We have to save Mario and the others!"

"We cannot," Bleck said simply. "Without the Pure Hearts, there is no way to counter the Chaos Heart. All we can do is give up…"

"What are you SAYING? ! You promised we would find happiness together! Was that all just a lie? !"

"It was no lie," Bleck replied with a headshake. "But without the Pure Hearts, all worlds are doomed. What can we do?"

"Blumiere! Snap out of it!" Tippi demanded, fluttering in his face. "How can you think it would end here, after all we have suffered without each other? We found each other again because we have stayed alive…how can you admit defeat? ! I will not! I will not give up! You promised we'd find happiness. You PROMISED!"

"That's right, Count!"

Tippi and Bleck were surprised to see Mimi and O'Chunks teleport into the dimension and approach them with smiles.

"My minions…how did you find us here?" Bleck asked.

"Gosh, I could follow your big smile anywhere, Count!" Mimi exclaimed.

"Ah, she lies like a wee rug, this lass!" scoffed O'Chunks. "Nastasia told us, Count! She said you'd come 'ere…Or…she said she FELT you'd be here, or somefin along those lines…"

Bleck turned around and gazed sadly at Nastasia, lying lifeless on the ground. The very same woman who more than half the heroes wished revenge upon was the same woman who had gone out of her way to try and save them all at the last moment.

"Nastasia…"

"Talk about goin' the extra mile! She even sacrificed 'erself to save yeh! Lissen, Count, I promised me life as well, an I'm not afraid teh live up teh it! So…yeh gotta let me help!"

"Yeah! I mean, there's no WAY Dimentio's getting away with this!" Mimi said, seething with slight anger. "He pulled a really dirty trick on you, but we'll always stick by your side!"

"My…" Bleck hid his face with his hat again. "My loyal minions…"

Just then, eight blackened hearts suddenly appeared above them, momentarily regaining their colors and becoming the Pure Hearts again.

"Hmmm…what's this?" Bleck questioned curiously. "Pure…Hearts? ! But why?"

"Isn't it obvious, Blumiere?" Tippi said with a slight laugh. "Pure Hearts are the very feelings of our souls. As long as we feel love, they live on! I will take these to Mario!"

Without another word, the Pure Hearts closed in on Tippi, and together, they escaped Dimension D.

. . .

"Hmph…let's stop wasting time and finish this, shall we?" Super Dimentio asked, tired of waiting. "Ciao!"

The sudden familiar white light flashed, and the heroes broke out into surprised grins while Dimentio suddenly found himself slowly being weakened.

"What? ! What's going on? !" To answer his question, the Pure Hearts appeared and began to circle his head. His pupils shrunk as he screeched in agony. "NO! The Pure Hearts? ! I thought you wasted them all fighting Count Bleck? …what's…happening? I'm not invincible anymore…"

"But we are, somewhat," Link said with a grin as the Pure Hearts began to power them all up. The energy of the hearts filled them all, not only was their health restored…

But man, you've gotta love the upgrades.

"All riiiight!" Sonic cheered, jumping into the air as his fur quickly brightened to gold and his eyes turned red. The Pure Hearts then hovered around Amy, Tails, and Knuckles, giving the former two a golden glow as well, while Knuckles' red coat faded to a manly shade of pink-

"Bwahahahaha!" Malon suddenly burst out in uproarious laughter. "I'll _never_ get tired of seeing Knuckles be pink-"

"I thought you got over it!" Knuckles exclaimed, his cheeks turning red. "It's just a color!"

"PINK! Heh heh-"

Super Knuckles floated away from Malon while Meta Knight just stared and shook his head.

"Some things never change…" he sighed as he held out his sword, allowing it to become super-charged and transform into Master, the upgraded version of his sword.

"What is this? !" Dimentio squawked, gaping.

"Oh nothing, just us getting ready to overkill you," Kirby said simply, leaping into he air and landing stylishly on his Dragoon Rider. He held out his arm as he rocketed around the room, his all powerful Star Rod materializing in his hand.

"Ooh! Ooh! Me next!" Eggman called eagerly. His battle mech, as he was currently sitting in it, was suddenly absorbed by a bright light, and right before the doctor's eyes, his fighting machine was given a makeover. His gained even more advanced and powerful weapons, along with a few extras. Eggman grinned sinisterly and almost couldn't wait to fire, but out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Ganondorf. "Hey, what's going on with you?"

"I'm…not…entirely…sure…" Ganondorf struggled to say, staring at his tingling arms with confusion. Moments later, he let out a sickening howl and suddenly transformed into his beast form, Ganon. Everyone scooted away from him, but just as quickly, he reverted back to normal and donned a grin.

"Oh yeah. I might not be able to stay as a monster for long, but I'll savor it as much as I can!"

"Oh, how pleasant…" Malon scoffed, pulling out her flute. She played the Song of Light twice, causing her arrows to be upgraded to Light Arrows. She smiled when Zelda obtained Light Arrows as well, thought the princess held her bow much more professionally than Malon did.

"Geez, at this rate, Dimentio will be nothing!" Samus exclaimed, preparing her cannon to shoot out a violent Zero Laser- with no chance of her suit breaking apart.

"You can say that again!" Link agreed, slashing at the air and making a large glowing aftermath in the shape of a Triforce.

"Remember, Luigi's part of that thing as well…" Peach warned, nervously fiddling with her blue brooch. "We can't get too reckless…"

"No worries, Peach! We've so got this!" called Amy.

"Yes, now's our chance…" Tippi agreed, fluttering down in-between Mario and Peach. "The Pure Hearts have given us power! Let's get him!"

"You're so right! Let's jump him!" Bowser called.

"This is where it ends, Dimentio!" Peach called to their demented foe.

"You have to get through us if you even want to think about destroying everything…" murmured Tails, eyes filled with hatred as he spitefully glared Dimentio down. "You'll never be any sort of king to anything, right Mario?"

Mario: Oh yeah!

And with that, the upgraded heroes charged into battle- this being the official battle for everything they loved…

* * *

**Originally they weren't going to get the upgrades in this story, due to the overabundance of characters, but somewhere along the way I must've changed my mind...**

**Now, if you'll excuse me... *hides in bomb shelter for making the official boss chapter tomorrow***


	58. Super Dimentio's Going DOWN!

Super Paper Mario X

Chapter 58: Super Dimentio's Going DOWN!

"That's Super Dimentio, a freakish blend of Dimentio, the Chaos Heart, and Luigi…" Tippi trailed after Peach pointed at the foe they'd be facing. "That monstrous body has immense power…concentrate attacks to the head. This is truly the final battle…Winning is the only option…"

"Are you guys ready to become champions?" Sonic asked, hovering above everyone else and looking all too eager.

"We have to take Dimentio down first, you know," Zelda added as if it were obvious.

"And we have to save Luigi!" Malon exclaimed, clutching her bow tightly.

"So what are we waiting for?" Bowser chortled. "Let's make this clown down for the count!"

"YEAH!" shouted Samus, riding on the back of Eggman's improved fighting machine.

"I am a jester for your information!" Dimentio's voice blared as Super Dimentio attempted to step on them. "I have so many tricks up my sleeves, I'll keep you entertained until you _die!"_

"Is it just me, or does it feel like we're being-"

"Targeted!" Kirby shouted, grabbing Amy and flying away on his Dragoon. They both looked over their shoulders to see Super Dimentio's rather large fist planted where Amy had once hovered. She took a sigh of relief, thanked Kirby, then jumped off the Dragoon. Kirby meanwhile turned his ride right around and charged at Dimentio, whacking him several times with his Star Rod.

"Wow, we're certainly quick to get cracking, aren't we?" Zelda noted, taking aim at Super Dimentio's forehead while he was distracted with Kirby. She shot a Light Arrow that soared through the black room like a shooting star. It hit perfectly in the center, causing Super Dimentio to recoil.

"What in the worlds? !" Mr. L's voice shouted, however, as the two fists shrunk and flung up to Super Dimentio's forehead. Zelda smirked, Malon watching her moves and taking aim as well.

"Let's see if I can do the same…"

She took a firing stance like Zelda had, but just as she released the arrow, Tails came out of nowhere and pushed her out of the way of the platform's projectiles. They were all now hovering back and forth, still donning creepy faces that were able to shoot out lethal and annoying projectiles.

"Talk about if looks could kill…" Tails grumbled, carrying Malon away from all the danger.

"Darn it Tails! Now I have no idea where my arrow went!"

**Meanwhile-**

"Where the heck did this thing come from? !" Eggman demanded to know, holding a golden arrow in his hand. "This thing could've killed me!"

"Just drive man, drive!" Samus ordered, keeping her cannon locked on Super Dimentio at all times. Eggman shrugged, tossed the arrow over his shoulder, and gained speed. However, just as they were about to plow into Super Dimentio, Super Dimentio suddenly jumped up, and Samus and Eggman stopped to gape.

"What're ya doing? !" Knuckles shouted. "MOVE!"

"Is that Luigi's Super Jump? !" Meta Knight gaped.

"I'm going to kill him!" Malon screeched. "And by him, I mean Dimentio, naturally."

Super Dimentio came crashing down on Eggman and Samus instead, the duo instantly being flung into the air. Knuckles caught Samus (although both of them started to plummet almost instantly after) while Eggman collided into Ganondorf. The King of Evil instantly shoved the doctor off, then started to growl.

"This just got personal."

"How? All I did was land on you-"

"And I'm sure you've done that more than enough times on this adventure already," Ganondorf grunted, slowly starting to transform. "I have a dignity to upkeep, you know."

Eggman rolled his eyes and hurried back to his mech as Ganon let out a roar and charged at Super Dimentio. The inane villain obviously wasn't expecting a huge pig beast to ram into his side, because Super Dimentio nearly toppled over. As Ganon continued to charge and wildly attack, Super Dimentio threw back his head, as if to summon something.

And as if on cue, the platforms were crazy with projectiles again.

"ARGH, you've gotta be kidding!" Ganondorf wailed, as his large beast form caused him to absorb most of the attacks. He quickly returned back to normal as everyone else ran around trying to avoid being hit. Super Dimentio smirked at the chaos he caused, then brought one of his large fists down on anyone who was unfortunate enough to get caught underneath.

"That could've gone better," groaned Link as Peach helped him, Meta Knight, Bowser, and Malon out from underneath.

"This problem needs to be taken care of immediately," Meta Knight huffed.

"Well, it's not really simple to take down big, bad dudes like him," Bowser groaned. "Trust me, I would know."

"Maybe we're just taking the wrong approach?" Malon questioned, getting back on her feet.

"He doesn't look that stable, however…" Peach trailed, tuning to look back up at Super Dimentio. It was then that she spotted Mario, jumping from platform to platform and dodging the projectiles, trying to make his way up to the top of Super Dimentio's head. He sprung forward, landing a blow to the head, though grimacing at the thought of how much it resembled Luigi. The heroic plumber continued to jump on Super Dimentio until he flung Mario off with a quick turn of his head, sending Mario toppling to the ground.

"Gotcha!" Sonic called, grabbing Mario by the arm and flying away. "You all right?"

Mario: Oh yeah!

"All right, sweet!"

He set Mario safely on the ground, then flew back up into the air. "Okay, I have got to find an effective way to hit this thing…"

"Well, there is one thing you could try…" Knuckles trailed, floating up next to him. Sonic raised an eyebrow.

"Oh yeah? Care to inform me?"

"Sonic Overdrive?"

Sonic was about to respond, then just blinked. Tails, meanwhile, overheard the name and was between Sonic and Knuckles in a flash.

"Are you kidding, Knuckles? ! We haven't used that move in forever!"

A twinkle was evident in Knuckles' eyes. "I know."

"But, we're in super forms-" Sonic started to protest.

"We can still pull it off. If we just went rampant on Super Dimentio, it wouldn't be as effective because his entire body has different defenses, as strange as that is…"

"So…are we really going through with this?" Tails asked.

"Blast away!" Sonic shouted, and Tails instantly grabbed Sonic while Knuckles grabbed Tails. With a (pink) spin, Knuckles chucked Tails at Super Dimentio. Right before he made contact, however, Tails let go of Sonic, who was in a ball, and gave him a hearty kick.

Super Dimentio was pwned in the head several times moments later.

"Yeah!" Sonic cheered as Knuckles and Tails exchanged a high five. Super Dimentio staggered a bit from having his head rattled, but he was quick to get back in action. Now Bowser was shooting flames at him, Mario was back on his feet and attacking constantly, Malon was still trying to fire an arrow but found herself too distracted, and Amy was flying around doing hammer blows to Super Dimentio's upper area. The four of them suddenly found themselves surrounded by a red flash of light, followed by being blasted right off their platforms (and out of the air).

"Ah ha ha ha," was all Dimentio said as they crashed onto the ground. Meta Knight saw that and fumed.

"It's about time to take matters into my own hands…" he grunted darkly, running forward before spreading his wings and flying. Meta Knight flew right to the head, striking it with his super-charged sword. He whirled around, using his Tornado move to get in more hits.

"Away with you!" Mr. L's voice yelled, and one large white fist smacked Meta Knight away. Just before Meta Knight slammed into the wall, Kirby flew in on his Dragoon rider and made his second save of the battle.

"There's no way I'm leaving you behind again," Kirby said, driving the Dragoon around the area. Meta Knight gave a nod in gratitude.

"Thank you, Kirby…we need some sort of strategy to attack this thing, however."

Kirby broke out into a grin. "I may have some sort of an idea…"

"Now _I'm_ sort of afraid to hear it."

"Just follow me- c'mon!"

Meta Knight heaved a sigh, but jumped off the Dragoon rider and flew alongside Kirby with his sword extended. Kirby held out his Star Rod, and together the two of them crashed into both sides of Super Dimentio's head.

"You do have to wonder," Kirby began, smacking the monstrosity's ear with the rod. "Why is it always the head?"

"Because the head is the most fragile part of the body," Meta Knight replied calmly as he slashed away. Super Dimentio was unable to shake them off, so he did the next best thing: he crouched down, then sprung into the air. Kirby and Meta Knight went flying off simultaneously, which was followed up by being crushed by two brown boots.

"Okay, I think its time we get back into action," Samus stated, nudging Eggman. "Did you fix thing darned thing yet?"

"Well sorry that my ultimate battle mech was stomped on by a combination of a psychopath, a black heart, and a wimp, Miss Aran!"

"Luigi is not a wimp!" Malon shouted, firing another Light Arrow. This arrow ended up hitting Knuckles instead, who was going in for a punch to the face.

Malon cringed as he roared out, "ARGH, MALON!"

"See, that's why we need to hurry. Little girls are shooting echidnas with arrows."

"I'm hurrying!" Eggman snapped. "I'd be finished if you'd quit pestering me!"

"Well then work harder, Eggman," Samus sneered, turning away and firing a few missiles. "Don't mind me-"

"DONE!" Eggman wheezed, and within the same breath lurched his machine forward. Samus nearly fell off with the suddenly jolt, though managed to stay on as a smirk crept across her face.

"Back for more?" Dimentio jeered at them, trying several times to crush them with his fists. Eggman careened away, nearly making the machine tip over, until he had a clean shot in front of Dimentio. Slamming the two buttons down, not only did the usual turrets pop out, but also large ones filled with fireworks, bombs, TNT, and just plain old dynamite. Sonic sweatdropped and warned everyone to clear out, while Samus whistled.

"Wow, impressive. But how's about you let me light this candle?"

"Be my guest."

Samus narrowed her eyes and aimed her cannon at Dimentio, unleashing the large blue beam of Zero Laser at him.

"Yeah, you're getting a taste of what I possess now, huh? HUH? !"

Her reply was in the form of a very satisfying scream. She grinned as Eggman launched all of his explosives, and everyone that wasn't Super Dimentio hit the floor. Several explosions of all sizes and colors detonated, leaving quite a fantastic sight, which was complemented nicely with Samus' Zero Laser. Kirby to some time to admire the colorful display.

"I might as well shake things up a little!" Knuckles snickered meanwhile, slamming his fists into the ground and causing a massive shockwave. Super Dimentio was knocked off kilter, and Amy took advantage of this by striking with her trusty hammer, aided by Cudge.

"Yeah, Knuckles…nice…" Sonic trailed unsurely.

"What? It was a decent pun!"

"What have we told you about leaving that to me?" Link asked as he advanced upon Super Dimentio. Right before Super Dimentio could do anything about him, Link slashed the air in a triangle pattern, causing a huge Triforce to surround Super Dimentio. He started hacking away mercilessly, but then suddenly stopped, as a better idea came to his mind.

"Zelda! Ganondorf! Over here, now!"

"No need to be so pushy," Zelda insisted, appeared by his side instantly with the help of Farore's Wind.

"What do you want me for?" Ganondorf grunted, trudging up as well. Link flashed a grin and held up his left hand- the one with the Triforce on it. Zelda gasped while Ganondorf's eyes widened.

"Link, is that really a good idea?" Zelda asked cautiously.

"C'mon, Zelda. It's for taking down a guy intent on destroying everything. I think it's worth the risk."

Zelda looked hesitant, but she lifted her right hand as well. "Okay…I trust you, Link…"

"You just better hope it works," Ganondorf added, raising his right hand too. All three Triforces began to glow, forming a golden triangle around the holders. Malon glanced over in shock, then frowned slightly because there was nothing she could do to help out…at least, until she glanced at her bow.

"I've got one shot…"

Super Dimentio suddenly found himself succumbing to the force of wisdom, power, and courage, and he was slowly realizing he wasn't going to last much longer. His high ego lowered slightly when he saw Malon skid in front of him, arrow aimed right at the center of the Triforce blast.

"I'm not going to miss this time…this is to help free Luigi!"

With that, she unleashed her Light Arrow and struck Super Dimentio, just as flawlessly as Zelda had. Super Dimentio cried out, and the Triforce Blast came to a halt. Everyone watched as Super Dimentio seemed to have snapped, as he threw himself against the walls and screamed chaotically.

"Yikes, I think we bonked his head one too many times…" Sonic trailed.

"He was already crazy to begin with!" exclaimed Bowser, hitting Super Dimentio with flames every time he stomped by.

"Ooh, think about how Thunder must feel right about now…" Knuckles winced.

"Yeah, I don't want to think about how Luigi's taking it…" Zelda said with a frown.

"ACK! Help! I'm being bombarded by mini-Luigi-like things!" Kirby wailed, being swarmed by some of Super Dimentio's defensive creations. Ganondorf made a face, then easily dispatched the creations with a wall of fire.

"Either way, this puppet has nearly reached its limit," Meta Knight deduced, glowering at it.

Mario went to look at it as well, however, his pupils ended up shrinking upon sight as he quickly jumped onto a platform. Link saw what was about to happen as well and yelled, "GANG WAY!"

Super Dimentio threw himself from one side of the room and started to slide toward the other, in an attempt to crush all the heroes. Everyone yelped and jumped onto a platform, except for Bowser who was plowed over instantly. Super Dimentio was back on his feet quite quickly, and now he was seething with rage.

"The Master of Dimensions…the pleaser of crowds…the final champion of destruction…you'll never defeat me!" he bellowed. "One way or another…"

"Your words mean nothing!" Eggman declared, Samus firing a Charge Beam as well.

"Shouldn't we finish him off already?" Malon asked anxiously.

"How? !" questioned Samus. "He's gone into a psycho rage!"

"And we're still trying really, really hard not to die!" Kirby wailed, running from platform projectiles.

"Hey, wait a minute…" Tails trailed, speaking more to himself than anyone in particular. "Where's Peach been?"

Mario overheard him, however, and instantly scanned the room. Eventually he found her hiding under her parasol on the upper right most platform, perfectly safe from any attacks, and shielded from everyone else. Mario nudged Tails and pointed to her, and the both of them quickly ascended to go talk to her.

"…is the fight over yet?" the princess' weary voice came from the other side of the umbrella, after sensing Mario tapping on it.

"No, not yet, Peach," Tails replied. "Can you come out of there? It's a little weird speaking to an umbrella…"

It took a few moments, but Peach finally pulled out from under the umbrella and stood up somewhat shamefully.

"What is it?" she asked, not daring to look at them. "Go finish off Dimentio already and save the day!"

"How come you're not down there fighting your heart out as well?" Tails asked.

"And just get in the way? I'll have to pass, thanks…"

"What do you mean get in the way?"

Peach gave Tails a look. "The only way I can attack is by jumping on that thing's head and, on very rare occasion, get a chance to whack him with my umbrella. But if I even try to get close, I'll get hit by some attack, a projectile, or mess up someone's else attack."

"But-"

"Have you seen what you guys are capable of?" Peach continued. "Link, Zelda, and Ganondorf caused a huge blast, you, Sonic, and Knuckles can cause a lot of damage to one disclosed area, Malon's got her arrows, Amy's got her hammer, Meta Knight has his sword, Kirby is Kirby, Eggman has a boatload of explosives, and Samus has a freaking laser for crying out loud! Bowser's been doing better than I expected, and I'll never have as decent of hops as Mario…"

Mario: Peach…

"Tell me, what am I capable of? !"

"Are you kidding me, Peach?" Tails asked, cutting out whatever Mario was about to say. "The girl who prayed to the stars to give heroes the strength to beat out invincibility, the girl who refused possession just long enough to sacrifice enough power to save her friends, the girl who has possibly been through more than most of us here, is asking me just what she's capable of?"

Peach clenched her fists, but said nothing. The three of them jumped over a platform projectile before Tails started up again.

"You think you're not capable of anything? Stop and think about me! I had to witness all my friends be tortured in some way, and I didn't have enough gall to even help them! Then when I was stuck as a demented, frightened, evil little kid, I had to get pushed around and abused by those very same friends, and I still didn't do a thing about it! And even when I had information that I should've shared a lot earlier…I was afraid I'd hurt someone with the truth…but if I had told, a lot of things could've been prevented…heck, I could've prevented Luigi from being used like he now!"

Tails took a deep breath, and Mario placed a hand on his shoulder. He calmed down a bit, then turned back to Peach, who was now quivering slightly.

"So don't complain to me about being capable! I'm probably less "capable" than you are, and yet I'm still fighting! It's not about how much you can do, but about even bothering to do something at all! Wouldn't you rather go home and say that you helped out, even just a little, to take down the demented master of dimensions, rather than saying you sat on the sidelines to stay out of the way?"

Peach nodded as she said, "Yes…"

Mario gave her a thumbs up as well, and Peach stood up a little straighter. And finally, Tails managed to smile.

"So, listen, we need to close the curtains on Dimentio, but we can't exactly do that without the right execution," he held out his hand to the princess. "Are you willing to help us out? I know you can do it…"

Peach turned to Mario again, the plumber putting a fist to his heart and nodding. Peach caught on to what he was trying to say quickly and took Tails' hand.

"I'll be willing to do anything in my power!"

"Now that's the Peach I've known and admired. Let's finish this creep off once and for all!"

"Are you ready, Mario?" Peach asked, with Tails now flying with her in his grasp.

Mario: Oh yeah!"

"Then here we go!" Tails cheered, flying himself and Peach back toward the battle. Mario hopped off the platforms as well, and found that the rest of the heroes were running (or flying) all over, frantically trying to avoid Dimentio's psychopathic assaults.

"Where have you two been?" gawked Sonic, spiraling around several red beams and platform projectiles.

"And just where were you, Peach?" questioned Zelda while she was shielded by Nayru's Love.

"Thinking things over," Peach replied. "Does anyone have any idea of what our next move is?"

"Yeah: not die!" yelped Kirby.

"Besides that?"

"Defeat Dimentio?"

"Anything to _do_ just that?"

"…"

"Well, I've got an idea," Tails stated. "But we've gotta hurry!"

"Tippi, I need you to get the Pure Hearts again," Peach explained. Tippi looked a bit surprised.

"B-But, we already used the power of the-"

"I don't need their power, just their presence. It'll help!"

Tippi blinked, then proceeded to pull them out again. "If you say so, Peach…"

"Erm…what's going on?" Knuckles wondered.

"This is the part where we have no clue as to what's going on, but in the end we somehow manage to do whatever perfectly," explained Bowser.

"Ah ha ha ha ha…I might be a jester, but you are the fools!" Dimentio's psychotic voice rang throughout the room. Super Dimentio stood in the center, watching everyone circle dangerously around him. "You've chosen to defy me, and you'll pay dearly with your lives! You think you're a match for a mastermind who has pulled strings to get the Dark Prognosticus to come true? DO YOU?"

"Yes, we do," Peach replied, still being carried by Tails. Tippi delivered the Pure Hearts again, and all eight of them circled Peach. She held her hands folded across her torso, eyes closed as the power within her began to spark. Super Dimentio made the mistake of stopping his rant to watch closely…because he ended up getting owned by Peach's heart power.

Peach's arms were spread out, yet they were struggling to keep the heart barrier surrounded around Dimentio. While he was behind it, he was unable to attack, and hardly able to move. Just before Tails let go of Peach, she said, "If you want to finish Dimentio off, do it now."

She was dropped, and Mario was there to catch her. And even while she fell, she kept the barrier up, and everyone knew it wouldn't last long.

"C'mon, people, let's move!" Samus barked, getting everyone to charge. "Not even Peach's heart power can keep Super Dimentio at bay for very long!"

"You'd think it would, considering Dimentio doesn't believe in love or anything of the sort," Meta Knight mused as he approached Super Dimentio.

"I'll be the first to set it off," Eggman said with a smirk, launching his overkill of explosions at Super Dimentio. While he was shielded in detonation, Ganondorf transformed once again and rammed into Super Dimentio, causing his huge frame to stumble into Bowser's flames that were twice as strong.

"Keep it up…keep it up…" Peach murmured, though Mario couldn't tell if she was talking to the group, or telling herself that.

Amy flew around Super Dimentio at the speed of light, finally deciding to strike his weak forehead with her hammer. Super Dimentio recoiled from the blow, only to get a double whammy when Zelda and Malon jumped forward and launched two arrows at the spot that Amy struck.

This was followed up by Knuckles shaking the ground once again, then attacking Super Dimentio with Deep Impact while he was still discombobulated. Meta Knight swooped in and slashed at every place possible, while Tails flew around crazily and struck anywhere and everywhere with his variety of tools.

"DAH!" Peach suddenly cried, falling to the ground as the barrier fell. Mario gasped and tried to help her up, but she shook her head and told him to go finish Dimentio off nevertheless. Longing to help, but also hoping to obey her wishes, Mario charged back into the battle.

"You're making the mistake that will cost you your lives!" Dimentio screamed, summoning the platforms to go crazy with projectiles.

"Yeah, you've already said that, like, twice already," scoffed Ganondorf.

"And we don't even need the barrier to defeat you!" Samus laughed, firing Sonic and Kirby out of her cannon, followed by a few missiles. Kirby plowed his Dragoon Rider into Dimentio's side, then struck random places with his Star Rod. Sonic, meanwhile, knocked the wind out of Super Dimentio, followed by weakening the large foe even more by kicking him several times.

"Ease up, Sonic, or I won't be able to attack!" Link said with a slight chuckle. "GRAH!"

He jumped up and used his Triforce Slash once more, trying to open up a spot for Mario to get in the last blow. Peach, out of the corner of her eye, noticed Dimentio was about to crush the waiting Mario with his fist, causing her to yelp.

"Mario!" she shrieked, thrusting out her hand. Mario looked at Peach, then looked over his head and cringed.

Peach had stopped Dimentio from crushing Mario.

"That…was way too close…" she huffed, struggling to keep the second barrier up.

"Ah ha ha…silly princess, if I am to finish even anyone off, I will go out of my way to see to it that it's the MAN. IN. RED!" Dimentio said maliciously, though a bit of Mr. L's voice could be heard as well.

"And I'll make sure that you'll never lay a hand on Mario!" Peach exclaimed, slowly standing up and she kept her hands thrust out in front of her. Just as Dimentio was about to crush her with his extra fist, Peach raised her arms above her head, then acted as if she was throwing something.

As if by a miracle, Super Dimentio went flying across the room.

The rest of the heroes either gaped, gawked, gasped, fainted, or all four.

"Where…is…that…blasted…plumber? !" Super Dimentio seethed, picking himself up off the ground with what little strength he had left.

Mario: Hi! It's-a me, Mario!

Right in front of Super Dimentio's eyes, Mario appeared after teleporting back into 2D, then acquainted Super Dimentio with the bottom of his feet.

With a mighty thud, Super Dimentio keeled over, in his one moment of true defeat. Mario landed back on the ground and flashed a thumbs up.

Peach stopped using her heart power and excitedly clasped her hands together, while everyone else cheered at the sight of Super Dimentio blowing up.

"Urgh-Gaah?"

The heroes all gathered together, watching as Super Dimentio's head landed on the floor before them.

"How did you do it…" Dimentio's voice quivered, despite coming from the Mr. L-like head. "How could I have lost with the power of Luigi and the Chaos Heart…and the prophecy…has it been undone? !"

"I think your prophecy was wrong all along," Peach proclaimed, arms hanging weakly at her sides.

"You believed your prophecy, and we believe in mopping the floor with you!" added Bowser.

"I told you that you wouldn't get away with this," Tails said with a smirk.

"Heh, we all knew that before we even began to fight!" chuckled Kirby.

"Nothing is decided entirely by fate, you know…All things determine their destiny," Tippi explained. "Good-bye, Dimentio. We'll add a footnote to the prophecy about your failure."

"Ooh, nice one, Tipps!" Link laughed. The head of Super Dimentio struggled on the ground.

"Urrrk…unnngh…you think this is the end? This isn't finished…"

"Uh, yes it is. You're a disembodied head lying helpless on the floor," Knuckles said flatly. "It looks like the end."

"You can't…stop this now…you can't escape…I've been saving one last surprise…"

"…that's sounds really, really, sinister…" Amy gulped.

"Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha…CIAO."

The remains of Super Dimentio burst into explosions again, releasing the Chaos Heart and Mr. L, both completely unharmed. Mr. L returned back to Luigi shortly after while the head of Super Dimentio disappeared. Luigi blinked, jumped back to his feet, and murmured, "Eh…huh? What am I doing here?"

"LUIGI!" Malon shouted, running over to him instantly.

"Thunder! He lives!" cheered Knuckles, joining his team in reuniting with their leader.

"Yes, I'm alive…" Luigi managed to say while being just about squeezed in half by Malon. "I feel like I can't remember anything these days…"

"It's just really, really, great to see that you're okay…" Tails trailed softly.

"As great as it is to see you, Luigi, I don't think we can celebrate just yet…" Sonic said quietly, pointing to the Chaos Heart that still apparently existed. It vanished from their sight seconds later…

…and the endless tremors merged into one continuous one.

As if on cue, Count Bleck, Mimi, and O'Chunks teleported beside Team Luigi, all three of them looking perplexed.

"So it seems the end of all worlds is really upon us…" Count Bleck mused above the sound of the tremor.

"So defeating Dimentio wasn't enough to stop it?" Peach gaped.

"Is defeating no one enough to stop it? ! YEESH!" complained Kirby.

"I thought the Chaos Heart would disappear if the person controlling it fell…" Count Bleck continued. "Dimentio…must have left behind a shadow of his power continued controlling it."

"Who would've guessed?"

"It won't last long…but it may be enough to ensure the end of every world…"

"Oh, GREAT! So what do we do now?" groaned Bowser.

Count Bleck frowned and pulled his hat over his face. "There is only one thing left…that we can do…"

He spread out his cape, causing one last, huge, final door to draw itself into existence. He ushered everyone through, like it was their last hope at escape.

. . .

On the other side of the door, a few people smiled, a few people frowned, some widened their eyes with surprise, and other gasped with memories. On the other side of the door, the only peaceful place in Count Bleck took its turn to draw itself into existence…

On the other side of the door, which was white rather than black, was the wedding chapel where Peach and Bowser were wed.

"Hey, I remember this place!" Luigi exclaimed, causing a few people to turn and give him confused stares.

"It seems like it happened so, so long ago…" Peach said, holding her hands tightly in each other. "So much has happened since then…"

"Ah, the place where Peach and I were wed," Bowser sighed happily.

"You DO know that it was all a scam, right?" Zelda asked.

"Besides, if it was a real wedding, it would have been nullified because "death did you part", remember?" Tails said with a smirk.

Bowser noticeably looked crestfallen. Meanwhile, Count Bleck nervously turned to Tippi.

"Timpani…Do you still…do you still love me?"

"Yes…Blumiere. Of course I do."

"Then you must come with me."

"'Ey, Count!" O'Chunks spoke up. "What're yeh doin'? !"

"We will use the Pure Hearts again, this time to banish the Chaos Heart."

"We should have just done that in the first place!" cried Sonic.

"All we need is true love…And that is something I am lucky enough to possess…"

"Cue "Awww" ing!"

"Awwwwwww!"

Ganondorf rolled his eyes. Count Bleck continued to explain the plan, though the hard stare he usually had had softened up considerably.

"However…with the Chaos Hearts gone, the Pure Hearts and those linked to them…They may cease to exist…"

"You mean you might go away?" shrieked Mimi. "B-But I don't want you to go!"

"All of this is my fault. The price is mine to pay…I do not have long to live anyway. But you, Timpani…it pains me to know this may cut your game short…Still…there is no other way to end this."

"I know, Blumiere…I know…" Tippi sighed.

"Timpani…"

"Don't say another word…As long as I am with you, nothing else matters…"

The ground shook even harder than before, with Luigi quaking as well.

"Auuuuugh! It's…happening!"

"We must go, Timpani…"

"Yes, Blumiere…"

"Why do they keep referring to each other by name?"

"Hey…isn't it a little weird that a count is marrying a butterfly?"

And so, Count Bleck and Tippi, or Blumiere and Timpani, flew up to the altar, leaving their friends and foes at the bottom. Peach worried for Tippi's sake, but a nod from Mario was enough to console her.

. . .

At the altar, the Chaos Heart floated between the two lovers, as if trying to oppose their unification with its presence.

"There were so many things I wanted to say to you…" Blumiere murmured from beneath his hat. "But I could not find the words…"

"Oh, Blumiere. Only one thing matters to me now. I never had the chance to return your question…Blumiere…do you still love me as well?"

"Of course…I have thought about you every moment since you disappeared…But I have caused you so much suffering…"

"Perhaps…my life would have been more carefree without you, that is true."

Blumiere revealed his face again to gaze sorrowfully at his love. "I had to be with you, Timpani. I will never apologize for that…"

"I know, Blumiere…and I love you…"

"And I love you too, Timpani…hundreds of thousands of years from now, that fact will not have changed…"

"Awww…how sweet!" gushed Malon.

"Eh…it's a bit much for me…" Eggman said uncomfortably.

"Am I really the only one that finds it weird that he's marrying a butterfly?" Samus asked.

The eight Pure Hearts appeared, circling around the Chaos Heart, ready to repel it and undo all the damage that it caused. They all combined into one, forming the one true Purity Heart, and expelled the Chaos Heart out of its existence, through the power of true love.

. . .

"Everything's still shaking! Are we too late? !" Bowser squawked, everyone still at the bottom of the altar.

"Wait…" Luigi trailed, his head tilted to the side. "Can you hear that?"

"I hear…bells!" exclaimed Mimi.

"I hear it too!" added Kirby.

"So can I," agreed Meta Knight.

"How lovely! The bells are giving their blessing to Tippi and Bleck…" Peach giggled.

Mario nodded as O'Chunks suddenly lurched.

"Urrrrgh…"

"The question now, is…" Sonic began. "Well…what happens now?"

. . .

Everywhere, in every sky of every world…The Void that had haunted the sight of literally everyone disappeared, cleansing the sky of its once looming depressing purple nothingness. Even the worlds that had succumbed to the Void continued to live, as if they were reborn. Sammer's Kingdom…Popstar…even places that had been destroyed without a trace…they all came back…People everywhere celebrated regardless, as everyone had a reason to rejoice.

_. . ._

_"Timpani…do you remember the promise we made to each other that day?"_

_"Yes, I remember…"_

_"If there was a place where we could be happy together, we would find it. Will you come with me to that place now?"_

_"Blumiere…of course…I will always be with you…"_


	59. Returning Home Champions

Super Paper Mario X

Chapter 59: Returning Home Champions

_"…ro! …Big Bro!"_

When Mario opened his eyes, he found his little brother staring down at him, smiling with relief. He stood up, looking around, saw his friends all surrounding him, and discovering that they were all back at Flipside Tower.

"You awake, Bro?" Luigi asked, receiving a nod in return.

"Thank goodness…" breathed Amy.

"Hey…it looks like someone else is waking up as well…" Tails pointed out, motioning toward the ground.

Nastasia, who had somehow managed to return to the group, began to stir, standing up while returning her glass to where they belonged on her face. O'Chunks seemed the most shocked.

"Great leapin' bog monkeys! Nastasia, she draws breath once again, lads! Nastasia! 'Ey, Nastasia! Miracle o' miracles! GRA-GOOGLEY-HEY-HOORAH!"

Nastasia just adjust her glasses and murmured, "…Mmm? Um…I…I'm alive?"

"Mario! Check it out!" Bowser exclaimed, looking upwards.

"Yeah, look, look!" added Kirby excitedly, pointing at the sky. The Void in Flipside began to shrink as well, and everyone quickly erupted in cheers. "No more black nightmare above our heads!"

"The Void is closing!" Malon rejoiced.

"Yes. It is a sign that the prophecy of destruction has not come to be," Merlon started, arriving on the scene in his expected unexpected fashion. "And all worlds have been saved…The prophecy has lost its power…thusly the worlds that were lost return to normalcy."

"EVEN MINE? !" Kirby exclaimed, Merlon quickly conforming it. "YAY! I CAN GO HOME AGAIN! I'll run in the meadow, say hello to everyone, eat a lot of food, pick a flower, hang up the poster of Bow-"

"It is truly good news to hear that my world has returned, and didn't die out in vain," Meta Knight said, evidently smiling under his mask.

"And any other worlds that were lost came back too!" added Zelda. "Everything is at peace once more."

"You have done well, Heroes. It is all thanks to you," Merlon stated. "But…where is Tippi?"

Sad smiles washed throughout most of the crowd, and Mario explained what she had sacrificed to save everyone, and to be with her one and only love. Merlon was silent for a few moments, then spoke quietly.

"I see…so she is gone…ah…this, too, must have been under the influence of the Pure Hearts…"

"Both Tippi and Count Bleck… gone. What could have happened to them?" pondered Peach.

"I shudder to think about it, but surely when the prophecy was nullified…"

"Um, no…They're alive…"

Everyone whirled around to stare at Nastasia, whether because of her claim, or just because she spoke up in the first place. To their other surprise, she was actually smiling.

"Yeah, they're finally united. They overcame time and fulfilled their old vows…Somewhere, the count is living with Tippi…in….um…happiness…and I…yeah, I…"

She suddenly broke down crying, causing everyone, especially Mimi, to jump in even more shock.

"C-C-Count! NOOOOO! I…I'm all alone! What am I to do now? !"

"'Ey, now, me wee Nastasia…" O'Chunks trailed, trying to console her. "I'm believin' that the count is still alive, too. An' if he is alive, lass, we wouldn't want to be shamin' 'im with blubberin'! So pull it together, 'ey?"

"He's right, Nassy!" Mimi pointed out. "We still have each other! We can still build the count's world! So, c'mon! Big smile!"

"Oh, O'Chunks…Mimi…" she wiped away her tears and composed herself to the best of her ability. "Y-You're right. Yeah, I can't just sob like this forever. The count would never have approved. We have to create the ideal world that, um, the count wished for in his heart…A world of love, not war. Yeah, let's all pencil that in. An appointment…of hope."

"Coming from anyone else, that would sound a bit weird," Sonic chucked. "But hey! I'm all for that idea!"

"Can't say I am," grumbled Ganondorf.

"I just want people to listen to me!" Eggman exclaimed. "Though, going on a rampage through some weak town IS too good to pass up…"

"Farewells are bittersweet," Merlon sighed, changing the subject. "But as long as you live, you can never escape them. To feel sadness is to live…but as long as you are alive, the future is a blank page. And with that…I am hungry."

Mario: What.

"I have asked Saffron to make some of her celebrated snacks for us. Let us heel our weariness by devouring a banquet of sumptuous sweets!"

"YEAH!" cheered Kirby, Eggman, Knuckles, Link, and Amy.

"Oh yeah! THAT is a plan!" Bowser cried as well, already taking off. "Make a path!"

"Nothing like celebrating saving the universe with a feast," sighed Samus, shaking her head with a smile.

"What happened to the tradition of me throwing a party?" Peach laughed.

"You didn't last time," Zelda pointed out.

"Well, that was because you guys decided to leave for six months…"

"Either way," Tails interrupted. "I think we need a little fun right about now!"

"Definitely," agreed Malon, following the rest of the crowd.

Mario: Uh-huh!

And so, everyone made tracks for Saffron's house, with Link and Kirby ranting on and on about the dish she made and served.

That is, everyone but Peach and Merlon.

"Ah, Princess Peach…" the old wizard sighed again, this one more weary than the last. "I'm thinking of Tippi…I mean, Lady Timpani…I wonder if she truly is happy now…"

"Of course she is," Peach said simply, smiling.

"Ho ho ho! Yes, yes. Of course…well, let's have at those snacks…"

Peach nodded, and she and Merlon started to walk away as well. Peach, however, stopped to look over her shoulder, her smile softening to a sad one.

"I'm glad I got to meet you, Tippi…even if we'll never meet again…"

. . .

So the dark prophecy was averted and peace reigned. The Dark Prognosticus again faded into history…Count Blumiere and his love, Lady Timpani, both vanished. Where did the pair go? None know. And so the story of the lost book of prophecies…comes to an end…

May we meet again in another time and place…

* * *

**And thus is the end of Super Paper Mario X...**

**...except for the unnecessary bonus chapter. It's just a fun little thing that ties up any loose ends. But you can't see it 'til Friday. ^^**

**Anyway, many of you asked and/or are wondering if I'm making a sequel...the answer is...maybe. I've tossed a few ideas around, but I can't develop too much with the next PM game not even out yet, let alone me even playing it. :P Plus I was also counting on this being the last in the series, but...we'll see, we'll see.**

**But enough of that...as unnecessary as the epilogue is, it was totally fun to write! :D**


	60. The Extra Happily Ever After

Super Paper Mario X

Epilogue: The Extra Happily Ever After

"I've got it! Again!" Malon shouted, running to the doors of Hyrule Castle. She clomped down the stairs, ran down the hall, drifted around the corner, and skidded to the front door, pushing it open quickly. On the other side of the door were Sonic, Tails, Amy, and Knuckles, with Malon giving them each an excited hug.

"Ooh, I'm so happy to see you guys! It's been so long!" Malon exclaimed.

"It's only been three weeks, you know," Sonic chuckled. "Not quite the unbearable six months…"

"I know, but it always feels like a long time when we're apart!" Malon laughed as well.

"Is everyone here already?" Knuckles asked. Malon nodded.

"Guest-wise, we're still missing a few people here and there, but from our group? Everyone's here except the guys from the Mushroom Kingdom…"

"Oh, I hope they aren't having trouble…" Amy said worriedly.

"Here, I'll call them!" Tails offered, lifting his wrist and turning his watch on. After pressing a few buttons, he called Luigi's watch, and waited for his leader to answer.

"-STUPID TIE! Oh wait, is this on? Uh…oops…Hi Tails!"

"Hey Luigi!" Tails cried excitedly. "Where are you guys; just about everyone's here except for you guys!"

"Well, I'm having a fashion malfunction, and Peach apparently lost a shoe…that has just been found! We'll be there in a few minutes, promise! Tell Malon that!"

"All right! Just don't take too many minutes," Tails chuckled, hanging up.

"Ooh, I want to see Luigi so bad!" Malon winced. "Oops! Um…heh heh, you guys can feel free to come in now."

"About time," sneered Knuckles, receiving a mocking look from Malon. Just as she was about to shut the door behind them again, Mario, Peach, Luigi, and Bowser arrived.

By teleporting.

"YAY! YOU GUYS CAME!" Malon cheered, running to Luigi instantly. "And in less than a few minutes!"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world!" Peach laughed. "Besides, the show couldn't go on without us!"

"I still don't know why I came," grumbled Bowser, fidgeting with a bowtie around his neck.

"Because Zelda and Link wanted the whole group together," Luigi recalled as Malon adjusted his tie (which was somehow upside down, backward, and wrapped around his arm). "And apparently you're part of that group."

Mario: Yup!

"Well I'm not going to enjoy it!" Bowser said stubbornly, arms folded. "Hmph!"

"Well, come on, guys! Everyone's in there enjoying themselves!" Malon laughed. She hooked her arm in Luigi's and led him inside, Mario, Peach, and Bowser following them through the castle doors. Mario had to whistle at the interior- very fancy, and a lot more spiffed up than usual!

Even though this was Mario's first time in Hyrule.

People literally filled the entry way, and the large main room after that. The majority was Hyrule's own patrons, but a good amount of people were plainly from other worlds. Mario walked by Fox McCloud and a few of his friends, said hi to Ness, Lucas, and their friends (including a boy named Ninten), and saw a whole boatload of other characters. Mario even found Kirby conversing with Starfy, and to his surprise, Bow was by his side…along with Vivian!

"Wow, everyone's here! Even partners!" Luigi whistled. Malon nodded.

"Yup. All the other worldly were invited by Link, you know…" she sighed dreamily. "Ah, wasn't his proposal so sweet? I hope I get one like that one day."

Luigi blushed as he gave a small shrug. "Y-yeah, it was nice…"

**Three Weeks Prior-**

"NOM! Gimme that!" Bowser ordered, grabbing at everything at the table at Saffron's place and stuffing it into his mouth.

"Not if I get if first!" cried Kirby, swallowing the ice cream cake in the middle of the table in one bite.

"As delicious as this is," Malon began as she balanced a scoop of ice cream on her spoon. "Don't get so reckless!"

"But we haven't eaten any real food in forever!" protested Knuckles, his face full of fruit. Malon groaned and rested her face in her palm while Samus passed Peach a slice of cake. Everyone was chatting it up, just happy to have the whole mess over with. Eggman and Ganondorf were back to their evil plots, Sonic was entertaining everyone and receiving a lot of laughs in return, Meta Knight was talking to Amy about going home soon to check up on everything, and Kirby, after devouring at the least half the table, whipped out his kazoo and stated to march around while playing it.

"This is really nice, just sitting here, able to be together without having some life-threatening quest breathing down our necks," laughed Luigi while eating some gourmet grilled cheese.

"Just the way things should be…" Tails sighed, enjoying his third glass of sparkling apple juice.

"Well, things aren't quite what they should be just yet…" Link countered, rising and tapping his glass. All commotion settled down, and Kirby's kazoo concert came to a halt. Everyone gave Link their undivided attention as he turned to his right and guided Zelda out of her seat.

"What's going on, Link?" Zelda asked seriously, though a smile was evident on her face.

"Oh, nothing special," Link shrugged, rocking on his heels. "I just wanted to say, in front of all of you, that I'm sorry for leaving you when you needed me the most, not listening to my friends, and for even doubting your love for me…I've been slightly jerkish and maybe selfish, but it was because I just had you on my mind the entire time…"

Sonic, Samus, Knuckles, Amy, and Kirby instantly went "Awwwwww!" somewhat teasingly while Ganondorf, Eggman, Tails, and Meta Knight gagged, rolled their eyes, or just looked plain confused.

Zelda laughed lightly before saying, "I know that Link, you've already apologized for all that, and I forgave you…"

"I know, I know…" he continued, before collapsing onto one knee. "…but despite that, there's still one thing I've gotta know…"

Link produced the very same velvet box with the very same ring he gave to Zelda back in Boggly Woods. Upon seeing it, Zelda checked her hand, only to see that the ring really was no longer on her hand. As Zelda gasped, the rest of the group made a series of varied noises and sounds, ranging from sickened by the sweetness to simply lost in awe.

"…will you still marry me?"

"Well? Well? WELL? !" Kirby yelped. "C'mon, Zelda, the suspense is killing me!"

Zelda folded her hands neatly in front of her before quietly saying…

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…yes, Link. Of course I will!"

"Did you really expect a no?" Sonic laughed quietly as Zelda tackled Link in a hug and most of the gang erupted in cheers. Knuckles and Meta Knight popped bottles of champagne that no one knew how appeared (Eggman looked a bit sheepish at that point), Amy hugged Sonic 'til he turned purple, Malon shrieked excitedly and glomped Luigi, and Mario glanced at Peach, who looked like she couldn't contain herself, and smirked.

"That's awesome, congrats!" Tails cheered.

"I was wondering when that whole issue was going to get resolved," admitted Bowser. "Not that I care or anything…"

"He's probably going to pretend it's a wedding between him and Peach," Ganonodorf whispered to Eggman.

"Heard that!"

"And the best part is," Link announced, Zelda in his arms. "You're _all_ invited!"

"…ALL RIGHT!" shouted Sonic, bolting from his seat like a rocket. He landed on the table and nearly broke out into a song and dance. "YES! YES! YES! YES! Woo HOO! Aw man, YEAH!"

"Excited much?" smirked Samus, looking quite amused at watching the hedgehog make a fool of himself. Sonic stopped in mid-dance step to quickly hop off the table and obtained a casual stance.

"I-I mean…yeah, cool, we're going to a wedding. Sweet."

Link chuckled and threw his arm over his friend's shoulders. "Did I mention that you're the best man?"

If Sonic was a firework, Mario would've bet everything he owned that he would've burst with happiness.

. . .

Luigi and Malon walked in the center of the room, just watching everyone converse. Bowser had snuck off to a corner where Eggman and Ganondorf were consulting with other villains, Peach had left to go find Zelda with Amy, and Mario had walked up to Kirby to talk to him, Bow, and Vivian.

"Oh, Mario! It's been ages!" Kirby's girlfriend gasped, promptly giving Mario a hug. "We must stay in contact more!"

"It's really good to see you too, Mario!" Vivian exclaimed. "And I've finally got the chance to meet the Bow I've heard so much about…"

Kirby grinned at Vivian sheepishly while Bow eyed her suspiciously. Mario left Kirby to sort out his girl troubles where he then found Sonic with Kooper, Sushi, and Spike the Yoshi. Mario tapped Sonic on the shoulder, to which Sonic jumped to, but then smiled.

"Hey, Mario! Just catching up with Sushie, Kooper, and Spike here," he said with an uncontrollable grin. "They sure have some stories!"

"Like how I met Koops over there," Kooper chuckled, pointing behind him. "We were just talking about the whole Glitz Pit thing when Sonic arrived!"

"It's so great how we could all be here!" Sushie sighed. "It gives me such a great feeling!"

"Yeah, don't get too carried away there," chuckled Spike before turning to Mario. "'Sup Gonzales! Heard you just saved the world again! Too bad I wasn't there to help kick butt!"

"It WAS pretty epic…" Sonic agreed. He then glanced at his watch (which could now tell time) and cringed. "Aw jeez, sorry guys, I've gotta go…see you later at the reception!"

"Bye Sonic!" called the trio of partners as Sonic bolted off. Mario decided to head off as well- there were places he needed to be too! As he looked around, he noticed Samus was hanging with Lakilester, Ms. Mowz, and Parakarry, Watt, Flurrie, and Bobbery were talking amongst themselves, and even Goombario was in a tux talking to Goombella, but as always, he was a bit apprehensive in celebrating Link of all people. Even Team Luigi's partners were conversing with their respective Soul Partners (with the exception of one) and the Pixls were flying everywhere, filling the room with magical sparkles as they flitted around.

Everyone seemed to be in high spirits, and to Mario, it was good to see that everyone could be in good spirits, especially after the near-disaster they all faced…

He suddenly felt someone tugging at his formal wear and glanced down- only to see Bombette, Link's Soul Partner.

"Hi Mario!" she called happily, looking cheerier than nearly everyone else in the room. "I can't believe that Link is getting married! I always knew he and Zelda would, always!"

Mario smirked, as he always knew that too, but now they were actually getting to witness it happen.

"I couldn't have asked for a better way to see Link again, huh?" she giggled, hardly able to contain her excitement. "Oh, it's going to be great!"

"When does this thing start anyway?" Samus asked, walking up to Mario with Lakilester in tow. Mario shrugged, but explained that they should all probably get ready pretty soon.

As if on cue, Impa appeared, pretty much spearing through the crowd and making room for her. The whole room was silenced as she announced, "Everyone, take your seats in the next room, unless you ARE part of the ceremony, in which you need to get into position."

"Well that was convenient," Samus decided, quickly making tracks for her seat.

"I'll say! I can't wait!" added Lakiester.

Mario's grin was practically permanent as he entered as well- this was going to be awesome…

. . .

It took a while, considering how many guests there were, but eventually all the guests were seated. Team BEG was seated in the far back, trying to stay as far away from the action as possible. The majority of Team Luigi, meanwhile, sat closer to the front with their partners.

"Should have known Link would get the girl eventually," Luigi sighed, adjusting his tuxedo.

"Don't worry Luigi, everyone's chance comes soon enough," Meta Knight pointed out.

"Yeah Thunder, yours already came with Malon!" Knuckles snickered to himself.

"I still don't know what see sees in you," sneered Blooey, making Luigi forcefully smack his forehead.

The group was settled a bit when a bit of music began to play, signaling the official start and the seating of the VIGs- the very important guests. Since there was the odd situation of neither Link nor Zelda having any parents, the ceremony started with the next best people.

All guests turned in their seats to witness the arrival of the group of partners, the ones from the first adventure on the left, and the ones from the second adventure on the right…with the exception of Bow, because Kirby had promised Vivian that he would sit by her and Bow. So once they were seated, Samus and Kirby arrived, bringing up the back. Kirby, wearing nothing but a red bowtie, practically skipped down the aisle, while Samus was trying to avoid the stares she was getting at actually wearing a fancy blue gown.

"Pretty epic entrance, am I right?" Kirby asked, nudging Bow while Samus sat across the aisle next to Lakilester.

"I'm just surprised that you're not a groomsman, dear," Bow admitted, fanning herself. Kirby chuckled and scratched the back of his head.

"Well, I was supposed to be, but I was too small for any tuxedo they could find…"

"And I was going to be a bridesmaid, but then the maids would greatly outnumber the groomsmen," Samus explained. "But that's okay- I think this works better!"

And so the wedding continued, with several of the guests bouncing around with anticipation as to who the minister was. The guy who had originally tried to wed Link and Zelda took off after Mimi attacked, and was unable to be located again.

So when it turned out that a red-capped plumber started walking down the aisle with a book in hand, it was only appropriate for Kirby and Samus to fall out of their chairs.

"Wasn't expecting that…" Samus trailed.

"Oh come on!" Kirby exclaimed. "He totally lucked out!"

"Plumber, hero, doctor, astronaut, athlete, minister…sheesh, what ISN'T Mario anymore?"

Once Mario was situated, and looking rather smug, the true ceremony began, starting with the arrival of the groom.

All heads turned once more as Link stepped into the spotlight, wearing his tuxedo tunic once more. He tried to look composed as he made his way to Mario but lost it at the last second and started waving at everyone he happened to see.

"Just focus on what you're doing, you idiot," Samus stated, smirking. Link gave her a look.

"Hmph, you act like I'm going to trip or something-"

"Because you were," Samus replied, pointing to Lakilester grabbing Link before he fell forward. Link blanched with the near embarrassment before coughing and simply carrying on to the altar. Mario raised an eyebrow, but Link cut him off from saying anything with,

"We are not going to speak of this."

Mario hid his snicker behind the book as the ceremony continued. The groomsmen were supposed to be next, but considering Kirby was unable to fulfill his duty, there weren't any. Kirby stood up to try and take his place anyway, but Vivian and Bow had to hold him down.

"Stupid dress code!" Kirby shouted in a loud whisper.

"Shhh!" hissed Flurrie, to which Kirby began to pout.

Next through the doors came Amy, dressed in a manila gown, with a headband decorated with white roses. She looked ready to explode with glee as she nearly sprinted down the aisle, over anxious to get to the end. As soon as she was up there, she twirled around and started smiling sweetly.

"What was that?" Link questioned in a hushed tone. Amy shrugged, still with the smile on her face.

"Sorry…I'm so anxious, nervous, and excited I can't think straight!"

"Well, I can definitely relate…"

Mario: Shhh!

"Fine then! Ridicule the brief idle chatter!"

After that, Amy started getting really fidgety- considering Sonic entered the room, once again donning his tuxedo. Hooked around the Best Man's right arm was Peach, wearing a dress with the same color scheme as Amy's, only slightly fancier. As the Maid of Honor, her hair was up, her gown was designed to the max, and she had to be escorted by Sonic. Needless to say, it drove Amy mad, but she knew she'd get her chance soon enough.

So once Sonic and Peach were on either side of the groom, Amy tried to sneak next to Sonic to get a piece of him and his tuxedo, but Peach grabbed her arm and put her back in place.

"You can give him a death hug after the ceremony," Peach said with an evident grin.

"I don't know if I can even wait that long…" Amy groaned impatiently.

"Ugh, this suit is so itchy…" Sonic complained, scratching his arm. Link took a quick glance at him and laughed.

"Well, at least some girls are finding you attractive."

"I hope you mean besides Amy."

"Maybe."

As Sonic rolled his eyes, he snapped to attention when the Ring Bearer entered. He carried a royal blue pillow with the Hyrule family crest imprinted on it, along with two golden rings placed the perfect distance apart from each other. He took a spot next to Sonic and tried to stand straight.

"It's a wedding, Tails, not an army lineup," Sonic chuckled.

"W-well, I'm trying to look proper!" Tails replied. "I'm afraid if I slack even a little, the rings will fall…I can't even properly adjust my tie!"

"Oh, take it easy, you'll be fine!"

Tails tried to take Sonic's advice, but ending up standing even straighter. He relaxed a little when Malon arrived on the scene, spreading the petals of "Amy Roses" all along the floor. When she skipped next to Team Luigi, she waved, causing Luigi to wave back and to receive a mocking jab of an elbow from Knuckles. Luigi swatted him away while Meta Knight laughed to himself.

When Malon was in place in-between Peach and Amy, she leaned outwards and grinned at Tails, who shot her a grin right back.

And now that everyone was in place, it was time for the main event.

Samus stood, Kirby stood, and eventually, everyone else stood as well. The wedding march began to play, and in came the bride, with Impa to her side.

She walked down the aisle, seeming to bring a bright aura into the room with her. She lightly walked over the scattered rose petals, acknowledging her guests with quick glances left and right. Once they reach the end, Mario gave a nod to Impa, who nodded back and let go of Zelda. Zelda stood across from Link, her expression hidden by her veil.

"My…this is just extraordinary!" Hayzee exclaimed, leaning forward with his hands clapsed together.

"It's just like any other wedding," Jerry said with a shrug.

"I dunno," Bombette said, turning around in her seat. "This wedding seems pretty unique to me!"

"Shhh! Mario's tryna greet the guests!" Luigi said in a slight slur.

Once Mario greeted almost each and every guest, he started in a long speech about life, love, nurturing, sharing, and a whole bunch of other good values. The speech was so well said, so heart-touching, so beautiful, and so powerful that it even nearly sent Ganondorf into tears while Bowser claimed that there could be no other speech that could ever top that one.

When Mario finished with his life-changing speech that could have probably brought world peace if he announced it to the world, it was time to keep things moving.

Mario: Do you, Link, take Zelda to be your lawfully wedded wife, until your games are over?

"Dude, after all we've been through, heck yeah I do!"

Mario: -.-*

Nearly everyone facepalmed while Sonic burst out laughing and Zelda herself was hiding a chuckle. Once any and all groaning subsided, it was Zelda's turn to answer the question.

Mario: Do you, Zelda, take Link to be your lawfully wedded husband, until your games are over?

"I'd be crazy if I didn't," she laughed. "Yes, I do."

After that, there was a brief break in the flow, causing Sonic to nudge Tails. Tails left out a yelp before scurrying inbetween Link and Zelda and holding up their rings.

"Thank you, Tails," Zelda said softly as she picked up Link's ring.

"A-Anytime," Tails squeaked nervously before dashing back to his spot. The bride and groom then faced each other, holding each other's rings.

"Ah, Zelda…" Link began, starting up his vow. "I promise, that no matter what happens, I will protect you, watch over you, and love you, and make sure that I never, ever lose you again."

"Sniff…that is so sweet…" Kirby started to sob. Samus rolled her eyes on the other side of the aisle.

"And Link," Zelda continued, looking up at Link through her veil. "I promise to stay by your side, be faithful, be loyal, love you, and I'll always be there to make sure you say in check…and not get yourself caught up in some lame trap."

"You just HAD to burn me during the most important part of the wedding, didn't you?"

"At least I didn't yell "HECK YEAH!" when asked if I'd marry you."

Sonic started cracking up again, wiping away a tear. "Aw man, this is the best wedding ever! If only all weddings were this entertaining!"

"Sonic!" Peach, Malon, and Amy snapped, causing him to snap his mouth closed.

Meanwhile, Link placed Zelda's ring on her finger, and Zelda did the same with Link's ring. The two held hands, knowing that the big moment was about to be upon them.

Mario: If there's anyone who believes these two should not be wed, speak now or forever hold your peace.

"And you better keep your yap shut, Ganondorf!" yelled Link.

"That wasn't my fault!" Ganondorf yelled back. "Get over it!"

Besides that, no one spoke, so Mario continued.

Mario: By the power invested in me, I pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.

And with that, Link lifted Zelda's veil, and the two engaged in a smooch. Everyone erupted in cheers except for Kirby, who suddenly broke down in tears.

"Aw MAN! I…I promised myself I wouldn't cry! BUT IT'S SO BEAUTIFUL!"

"Oh, Kirby…" Samus trailed, shaking her head.

With that done, Link and Zelda exited the altar, while being followed by Tails and Malon, Sonic and Peach, Amy, Samus and the first group of partners, Kirby and the second group of partners, Team Luigi, and then everyone else.

"Man, why'd we come to this thing anyway?" Bowser asked. "That was way too gushy for my tastes! Though Peach did look attractive…"

"We came so we could use this wedding against them in the future!" Eggman bellowed while shaking a fist to the sky.

"Who're you trying to kid?" Ganondorf scoffed. "We can't beat them no matter what!"

"Hmm…maybe what we need is…how you say…an extra hand…" Eggman pondered.

"HEY! Only I make decisions like that!" Bowser snapped. "However, you may be onto something…"

"More idiots are the last thing we need," Ganondorf groaned to himself.

And with that, Team BEG made their exit.

**Later at the Reception-**

All the guests were seated at the table, some of them impatiently waiting to dig in while waiting for the wedding party. Finally, Samus, Kirby, and the partners arrived and took their seats, followed by Amy, Sonic and Peach, Tails and Malon, and finally the husband and wife. And yet, despite the fact they were there, everyone still couldn't eat.

"A toast!" Sonic announced as Peach tapped on her cup. "To the newly wedded couple, with one of which being my Shroom-crazy best friend-"

"HEY!" Link cried.

"And with the other being my wise yet graceful best friend," Peach added.

"Thank you kindly," Zelda replied.

"I'm proud to be your best man, and to both of you, may you have a long and happy relationship!" Sonic finished. "Cheers!"

"Cheers!"

"Where's the chow?" Knuckles demanded to know.

"Yeah, I'm starving!" threw in Kirby.

"What is it with you two and food?" Malon called from the other side of the table, shaking her head.

"Dinner…" Luigi trailed, flying out of the doors of the kitchen while rollerblading. "…is served!"

He practically raced by in a green flash, setting several plates of food in front of everyone. Kirby and Knuckles practically engaged in a gourmet race before Luigi had even served everyone! The green waiter came back around, this time with a pitcher of punch. With extreme and surprising agility, Luigi poured everyone a glass in one sweep without spilling a drop.

"Wow, Luigi, this food is amazing!" Malon gasped, biting into a roll.

"Now that's a good catch- a man who can cook!" Meta Knight chuckled. Malon turned to him and fumed.

"Hey! I'd expect something like that from Knuckles, but you? Hmph!"

"Looks like I'm rubbing up off him!" Knuckles laughed before being promptly hit.

"At least I don't turn pink!"

"Shut up!"

"Ah yes, we get along so well," Tails sighed to himself, slurping some soup. "We're totally different from our evil counterparts, but yet…there are some similarities…"

"Okay! I ate! What's next?" called Kirby, licking his plate.

"Have some patience, Kirby!" Bow exclaimed, delicately eating an appetizer. "We can't rush things like this-"

"Hey hey! Who's ready to watch the couple's first dance as husband and wife?" Sonic asked, getting uproarious applause afterward. Kirby gave Bow a smirk to which Bow flustered behind her fan.

"I'm on DJ!" Knuckles called, running over to the turn tables.

"I get it second shift!" Sonic exclaimed as Link and Zelda made their way to the dance floor. As soon as Knuckles started the music, Link and Zelda began to dance. Everyone who hadn't finished eating yet quickly devoured their food and rushed over to watch.

"I can't dance…I can't dance…" Link muttered as he and Zelda spun around slowly.

"All you have to do is spin and go slow, Link," Zelda explained. "And sway a little bit while you're at it. It'll convince people more."

Link let out a slight whimper as he took Zelda's advice, but eventually he got the hang of it, and before he knew it, the song was over.

"Is it just me or are things happening kinda fast?"

"Well, we've got a lot to squeeze in," Zelda replied with a shrug. She then grabbed a nearby microphone and announced, "All right everybody! From this point on, it's anyone's game on the dance floor! However, the maid of honor and the best man have to help us kick this next song off!"

Amy folded her arms disgruntledly as Sonic escorted Peach to the dance floor. They took a spot next to Link and Zelda, and when Knuckles started the music, the dance began. Link and Zelda, now used to being on the dance floor, went a bit faster, eventually evolving into a complicated ballroom dance…with Link trying to copy all of Zelda's steps. Sonic and Peach, meanwhile, went slower.

"Not really my sort of dance…" Sonic admitted, carefully guiding Peach around. "…but, it's nice."

"For this not being your sort of thing, you're quite good at it," Peach complimented. Sonic shrugged.

"Thanks…I may have picked up a few moves here and there."

"You know Amy's gonna want a dance, right?"

"Yeah…I'm trying to hold it off for as long as possible…" he groaned slightly. "But, then again, how can I say no? She'll bash my head in, if not completely off...and it's the least I can do for her."

"All I can say is don't leave without giving her what she wants."

"Right. And now, if you'll excuse me…" Sonic released Peach's hand, slipping away and leaving her with a wink. Peach smirked and placed her hands on her hips as Sonic slid into Link and Zelda's dance, asking, "Mind if I cut in?"

Zelda just laughed. "I don't mind at all."

Link was left with a dumbstruck look as his wife went to dance with his best man. "Oh come on! You could've waited until we were done!"

"I'm still available Link," Peach chuckled, grabbing Link and swinging him back onto the dance floor. They dance for a short while in silence until Link spoke up again.

"Uh, Peach?"

"Yes Link?"

"I dunno…I was just thinking about how I never gave you an intro again…"

Peach tried to look annoyed. "Oh, really?"

Link scratched the back of his head. "Yeah…since I feel a little guilty about that after how much you've complained, I've decided to give you something better!"

"And what'd you have in mind?"

"A really long compliment!"

Peach grinned. "Oh, this should be interesting."

"Well…to start off with, you make a very good princess, despite your kidnappings-"

"Hey!"

"-You're a great friend, a quick thinker, and I don't know what anyone would do without you."

"You're just saying that," Peach replied in a teasing tone.

"No, I mean it. Plus you're pretty, fun to argue with, and it's awesome fighting alongside you!"

"Not quite what I was expecting…" Peach admitted. "…but I'll take it. Thanks Link!"

"You're welcome. Just enjoy it, cuz I don't know if I'll give you another one!"

Peach punched Link in the shoulder, making him flinch a little, but the two still continued to dance.

Amy, meanwhile, watched Sonic from the sidelines dancing with Zelda. She impatiently tapped her foot, wondering when it was going to be her turn.

"It's so unfair…"

Mario: What's unfair?

Amy looked over her shoulder, then sighed. "Hi, Mario. I didn't see you walk up. I'm just upset because I might not get to dance with Sonic…"

Mario assured her that she'd get a dance with Sonic, even if it did take a while. Amy felt a bit better after hearing that, then came up with an idea.

"Hey, since Sonic's with Zelda and Peach is with Link, you wanna dance with me?"

Mario: *shrugs* Okay.

"Cool!" she cheered, grabbing Mario's wrist and dragging onto the dance floor. Everyone was a bit surprised to see Mario and Amy out there, but it gave everyone a sign that it was safe to go out there now, and the floor began to fill with dancers.

"Aw, look at everyone out there…" Malon sighed, still sitting with Tails, Meta Knight, and Knuckles. "I wanna dance too…"

"Well, go call up Luigi," Knuckles said simply. Malon shot him a glare, to which he quickly put his hands up to defend himself.

"He's still catering to people!" she snapped back. Then she gained a softer look and stared at the ground. "Uh…any of you want to dance?"

"Too young," Tails said.

"Too short," Meta Knight mumbled.

"Too attractive," Knuckles snickered, only to have a roll thrown at him. "Ow, my eye! I was just kidding, sheesh!"

Meanwhile, Mario eventually grew a little uneasy dancing with Amy, so he spun himself around into Peach and Link, hoping to trade in Amy for Peach. However, once he cut in, he realized he made a _grave_ mistake…

"The heck?" Link questioned, staring at Mario with confusion. Mario recoiled instantly and grabbed Peach instead before anything _else_ could go wrong. However, this caused Amy to spin into Link so those two ended up unintentionally dancing.

"Smooth, Mario," Peach giggled.

Mario: ^^;

"Aw man! You're not Sonic!" Amy complained, caught up in a tango with Link.

"Just don't get on me about coins and we should be fine," Link huffed back.

While that was happening, Sonic and Zelda ceased their dance, with Sonic taking a bow and Zelda curtseying.

"Peach was right, you are a decent dancer," Zelda stated, impressed.

"Eh, I was nothing compared to the elegant bride," Sonic retorted with a smirk. "Thanks for the dance!"

"Thank _you_."

With a wink, Sonic vanished into the crowd, probably off to find some other girl to dance with. The thought made Amy burn, especially considering she was stuck with Link-

"Hey! I can hear the narration, you know!"

What the heck is Link talking about?

**Meanwhile-**

Tails and Meta Knight just stood around, watching the dancers and listening to Knuckles DJ. All three of them wanted to dance with anyone, secretly, but none of them wanted to be the first to do it. The three of them were regretting denying Malon, but they knew just as well as she did that she was waiting for Luigi.

"So…um…" Tails started, trying to make conversation. "This is some good punch, huh?"

"Yeah," Meta Knight agreed. "It really…packs a punch."

"Good Chaos, we_ are_ awkward misfits…" Knuckles groaned, shaking his head.

Well, things continued on like that until Zelda made her way over, spotting the guys doing nothing in particular...despite the fact they were in the middle of a heated discussion about table cloths.

"Hey, you guys."

"Hi, Zelda!" the three chirped instantly, ready for anything.

"You three don't look busy- anyone feel like dancing?"

"_I'll_ do it!" Tails offered, beating the other two to the punch. Zelda chuckled as she lead Tails away, Tails looking over his shoulder to smirk.

"Hmph, of all the nerve…" grunted Meta Knight, folding his arms. "I'm probably not tall enough to actually dance with her, but still, the nerve of that fox!"

"I wonder if Malon would consider dancing with me," Knuckles pondered aloud. Meta Knight gave him a look.

"You're the last person she'd dance with!"

"Harsh much? !"

**And by the punch bowl-**

"So then I said, "It would taste better with barbeque!" Am I right?" Kirby cackled, finishing telling a story to Bow, Vivian, Sushie, and Flurrie. Samus was standing next to them, looking particularly bored at hearing something she had already experienced.

Things were also looking particularly worse for her as several guys constantly strolled up and asked for a dance, with Samus declining each time.

It was particularly the worst when Sonic happened to be the most recent of those guys.

"You're looking bored," Sonic noticed, sitting on the snack table even though he was getting scolded by Luigi. Samus just rolled her eyes.

"Let me guess, you're here to mock how I haven't even gotten a dance yet while you've danced with everyone under the sun already."

Sonic looked annoyed. "Yeesh, with all this talk, people are gonna think I'm a player or something! For your information, I've danced only twice!"

"And neither of them were Amy, right?" Samus guessed. Sonic grimaced.

"You are correct. But you're wrong in saying I'm here to mock you."

"Then what are you here for besides to annoy me?"

Sonic held out his hand and grinned cheekily. "To ask you to dance- you look kinda miserable."

"If I said no to several decent-looking guys, what makes you think I'll say yes to you?"

"The fact that you currently lack an arm cannon, which means I can force you if necessary."

"I've still got my pistol and electric whip on me."

"You can't even go to a _wedding_ without a weapon, Sam?" Sonic guffawed, suddenly terrified. "Well, that still doesn't scare me! …much."

Samus sighed. "If I dance once, will you leave me alone?"

"Yup, I've gotta dance with Amy before she kills me, so this might end up being cut short."

Sonic swiftly grabbed Samus and dragged her out to the dance floor. As they started to dance, Samus quickly noticed that several of the guys that asked her before Sonic were gawking, gaping, or growling. A bit unsettled, she decided to just focus on Sonic, considering he wasn't thinking up ways to get revenge one way or another.

As that was going on, Amy spied the duo from across the floor and growled.

"Even _Samus?_ You've gotta kidding!" she complained. "C'mon, Link! We've gotta fix this!"

"I dunno if I want to be a part of- WAAAH!"

Against the groom's wishes, Amy dragged him through the sea of people to try and find Sonic.

As Amy went on her little quest, Tails and Zelda's dance ended, resulting in Tails looking satisfied and Zelda on the search for a new dancing partner. Eventually the royal came across Mario and Peach. Seeing as she hadn't danced with Mario yet, Zelda cut in and twirled off with Mario.

"I'll bring him back in a bit, Peach!" Zelda promised. Peach was a bit stunned at first, but then decided she needed a break and started to go sit down. However, Luigi, who was searching the crowd for Malon, accidentally tripped on someone's foot and crashed into Peach. Peach caught him in a dancing position, and in an attempt to cover up his accident, Luigi started dancing with Peach.

"S-Sorry, Princess," Luigi gulped. "I was, uh…"

"Looking for Malon?"

"Yeah…she wasn't with the rest of my team when I went to check…"

"Maybe she's dancing with someone else at the moment?" Peach suggested, but quickly took it back when she noticed Luigi frown.

However, Malon _was_ dancing with someone else- unintentionally, but it was still dancing.

"Tails! What're you doing?" Malon scoffed. "I'm trying to find Luigi!"

"I'm trying to get out of here so I can go brag to Knuckles and Meta Knight," Tails replied. "Not too sure how _this_ happened…"

The two tried to get away from each other, but the surrounding dancers were really preventing that…

. . .

"Sonic? You look kinda twitchy…" Samus trailed, watching Sonic's ears spazzing out. "Are you nervous or something, because you're dancing better than I expected-"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm smooth on the dance floor, I know...I just can't shake the feeling that _she's_ coming…"

"I'm pretty sure she has no idea where you are."

"You know she has Sonic Senses!"

"…what?"

"SONIC!"

"See? ! See? !" Sonic cried out chaotically. "See ya later, I gotta juice!"

He left Samus with a wave, just in time to miss being smacked by Link as he was thrust into Samus' possession. Amy was hot on his heels, and Sonic knew he needed cover- and fast. Luckily, he found Tails and Malon and helped them out with their own dilemma. Sonic grabbed Malon and twirled away, but while Tails was trying to make a run for it, Amy slammed into him.

"Outta the way, Tails!"

"It's just a dance, Amy-"

"No time to talk!" she screamed, tearing through the guests and chasing after Sonic and Malon. Malon, meanwhile, was trying to get away from Sonic.

"Oh come on! Just as I lost Tails!" she complained.

"Eh, besides Amy, you're the only girl I haven't danced with yet," Sonic said, looking thoughtful.

"Well you're outta luck cuz I don't wanna dance! HHRNH!"

"_Unnecessary!"_ Sonic howled, feeling a sharp pain course through his body as Malon trudged off. Despite this, he still bolted forward, eventually running right through Peach and Luigi's dance. Amy was right behind him, until she suddenly got entangled with Luigi.

"Wah? !" was all Luigi could sputter out before being shoved to the ground. The two of them ran right by Kirby, who was having a short dance with Vivian.

"Heh, look at them, tearing through the dance floor like it's a race course!" Kirby scoffed.

"Well, don't mind them," Vivian said with a shrug. "Thanks for dancing with me, Kirby…"

"Oh, anytime. Bow promised Parakarry a dance, so why not dance with you for a bit?"

Vivian tried to hide her blush, but that was easily done when Sonic came zooming by once again. Kirby let go of Vivian and shook a fist.

"Hey Sonic! Some people are trying to actually enjoy dancing rather than make new speeding records!"

However, all the chaos and confusion quickly ended with Bombette making an announcement:

"Time to cut the cake!"

Just like that, everything stopped, and people flocked to the cake like moths to a flame. Zelda stopped dancing with Mario to meet up with Link, who halted an awkward dance with Samus. The rest of the group made their way over as well, with Sonic bolting under the table. Bombette, who was standing on top of the table, excitedly bounced up and down upon Link's arrival. Link smiled, setting his Soul Partner next to him, then grabbed the knife with Zelda.

"This is gonna be fun," Link said with a smirk.

"You'd better not be getting any ideas," Zelda warned with a mischievous look. The two of them continued to have a stare down as they sliced a piece of cake for each of them, then served it up. Everything went as expected, with the husband and wife each feeding each other a bite of cake, followed by applause.

That was when they both threw their cake at each other. However, they both were anticipating this and ducked, causing the cakes to hit Peach and Knuckles. Peach simply wiped it off, but Knuckles became enraged.

"Oh, this is war…"

"FOOD FIGHT!" shouted Kirby, digging his stubby hands into the cake and throwing it at Samus. Samus ducked out of the way, then grabbed a glob as well as tossed it at Meta Knight.

And thus, chaos ensued.

Cake, icing, and frosting flew everywhere, with Kirby jumping up and catching some in his mouth in slow-mo. Link slammed dunked a hunk on Goombario, Flurrie was worried it would get stuck in her hair, Luigi was wailing about how his cake was going to go to waste, Malon and Blooey smeared more cake on Knuckles, Link and Zelda were throwing it at each other, Spike was sliding around in it, and everyone else was just tossing cake for the fun of it.

Eventually, Mario pulled out a bottle of whipped cream and started blasting everyone, with Peach pulling out some strawberries and fighting back. This battle of the cake continued until Kirby had eaten so many projectiles that he flopped over, and everyone else had at least one body part completely covered in cake.

"Well, that was fun," Knuckles said, licking his face.

"Hoo, after that, I'm beat!" Peach said with a yawn.

"No one but Kirby even actually _ate_ the cake…" Luigi groaned.

"But it was delicious, trust me…" Kirby assured with a groan, leaning on said plumber. "You have got to loan me the recipe...

Zelda nodded, agreeing with everything that had been said. "Okay then, we'll have one last dance, I'll toss the bouquet, and then we can wrap this up."

"Cool, cuz I'm getting tired," Kooper admitted, starting to yawn.

"You heard the lady!" Link exclaimed, taking Zelda's hand and leading her to the floor. "Grab your last dance partner and let's get this show on the road!"

"Where's Sonic! ?" Amy cried hysterically, horrified at the thought of not being able to dance with Sonic. "He can't hide forever!"

As she tore the place up looking for Sonic, Mario escorted Peach to the floor, while Kirby was scouting around for Bow. He was slightly irritated when he found her, however.

"Meta Knight! Stop trying to steal my girlfriend!" Kirby exasperated, eyeing him dancing with Bow. "C'mon Bow, you need to dance with a real man…"

"Well, he asked, and I didn't want to be rude…" Bow said, a bit embarrassed. "But what can I say? I was saving the best for last!"

"Same here," Kirby said with a smirk, pulling Bow close.

Meta Knight, meanwhile, just shrugged and headed back to Tails and Knuckles.

Meanwhile, Luigi was on the hunt for Malon, but with his luck, he couldn't find her anywhere.

"Man, I'm probably gonna find her too late, with me being me…" he groaned to himself. However, fortune smiled upon him that night, because, out of the blue, he found her sitting at a table all by herself.

"What're you doing over here all alone?" Luigi asked, walking over and standing by her. Malon shrugged.

"I dunno, cuz I feel like it…"

"It's the last dance of the evening; I figured you'd be dancing with someone…"

Malon shrugged again. "No one of interest has asked me to dance…"

Luigi gulped, taking off his cap and wringing it in his hands. "W-Well, um, I…I'm not on waiter duty anymore, so I could dance with you, if you'd like…"

He flinched in fear of rejection, but to his surprise Malon practically tackled him and pulled him to the dance floor.

"I've only been waiting all night for this," she confessed, nervously glancing at the ground.

"Was it worth the wait?" Luigi asked, placing his hands around her waist. Malon giggled, draping her arms over his shoulders.

"Of course."

The two oddly swayed back and forth, but eventually Malon got "tired" and leaned on Luigi for support. Luigi blushed a bit, but said nothing…until a thought came to mind.

"Hey, Malon?"

"Mmm?" Malon muttered, enjoying the close-contact while it lasted.

"Remember in Castle Bleck, when I was trying to tell you something before we got hypnotized?"

"Yeah…"

"Well…" Luigi began, tensing a little as Malon stared up at him with her deep blue eyes. "All I was gonna say was…"

"Yeah?" She had her full attention on him now.

"Well…you're the best thing that's ever happened to me…"

Malon suddenly felt her face get hot, the shade of red matching the one on Luigi's face.

"Well, what're the odds? I think the same about you too…"

"R-Really?" Luigi stuttered. "I mean, I kinda suspected something like it, but…"

"Yup, it's true…" Malon chuckled nervously. "So, uh…"

"Where do we go from here?" Luigi asked, to which Malon nodded.

Neither of them knew, but there was something there, and they could certainly feel it. Without any explanation, their heads suddenly drew closer together, as if there was some sort of magnetic pull. They came closer and closer until…

"Woo! Way to score, Thunder!"

"Knew it would happen sooner or later!"

Luigi and Malon snapped their heads around to see Knuckles whistling, Meta Knight waving, and Tails looking completely confused. Malon growled at all three of them, shaking her fists.

"You three are the worst!" Malon cried, jumping up and down while Luigi chuckled.

"We only do it cuz we're friends, Mal," Knuckles laughed.

"Not as close as you and Luigi, but…" Meta Knight added devilishly.

"Why am I getting yelled at?" Tails questioned. "I didn't even say anything!"

Before Malon could go over there and kick them out the door, Luigi grabbed her and swung her outwards, winking and saying that they might as well finish their dance. Malon decided not to protest, and the duo did just that. Neither of them could've been happier.

"Man," Knuckles complained, now watching Luigi and Malon. "Now I'm the only one who hasn't danced yet…"

"Samus is available," Meta Knight pointed out.

"Well, yeah, but Sonic isn't around to fill in for me…"

"I'll do it," Tails offered. "It's the last song, so I can handle it. You go dance with Samus- I'm sure Sonic is busy tying up a loose end or two…"

As Knuckles walked off to find Samus, Amy was sitting against the wall, looking very dismal with a streak of make up running down her cheek. She had given up on chasing Sonic for what seemed like hours ago, despite it being only a few short minutes.

"Who am I trying to kid? Why would Sonic want to dance with me? I always try too hard…"

"Eh, don't blame yourself, Ames…"

Amy glanced up to see Sonic in all his tuxedo glory, clutching an Amy Rose in his hand and looking a bit hesitant. Her heart nearly jumped, ready to capture Sonic in a hug, but decided against it. Sonic, confused, took a few steps closer.

"Amy, are you all right?"

"Not really. Why?"

"Cuz I wanted to know if you wanted to dance with me…"

"You know the answer to that," Amy huffed. "The question is whether you want to or not…"

"I wouldn't be here if I didn't."

"Yeah, because you _weren't_ running away earlier…"

"I wasn't ready then," Sonic replied with a simple shrug. "I knew you'd be outraged, so I wanted to stay away until you cooled down…"

"Why didn't you just dance with me first, then?"

"The last dance is the important one, not the first," Sonic stated, holding out the rose. "Now, the song's coming to an end, and this might be the only chance ya get- who knows? You up for it?"

"Dang it, Sonic!" Amy complained, taking Sonic's hand and the rose in one move. "Why are you so convincing?"

"Well, there has to be some reason as to why you love me so much," Sonic chuckled, using his apparently "great" dance moves from before.

"I'm going to hurt you later, I hope you know…"

"Only if you can catch me."

Amy started steaming, but eventually cooled off and rested her head on Sonic's shoulder. Sonic, meanwhile, wiped the streak of makeup off her face and danced for the both of them.

And as of that moment, even if only just for that one single moment, everything was just the way it was supposed to be.

**Later that night-**

The guests all lined the exit, waiting for the bride and groom to make their exit. As soon as Link and Zelda appeared, the air was filled with bubbles, the ground was covered in rice, and no one could be happier. Kirby grinned most of all, holding Zelda's bouquet (that he caught just before Amy and/or Samus could grab it). Link helped Zelda onto Epona, who had "Just Married" taped to her saddle (which was Sonic's idea, naturally). Link waved everyone goodbye, hopped onto his horse, and took off for what was probably going to be his honeymoon. Everyone whistled and wished them well, with the Pixls hovering around and lightning up the night with their magic.

After the highs and lows of the day, it was safe to say everyone was beat. Knuckles was really ready to go home, which rubbed off on the rest of the Sonic Gang and resulted in them going home first. Samus took off after that, followed by Meta Knight and Kirby (with Kirby giving out a long heartfelt goodbye to Bow, a medium one to Vivian, and short and sweet ones to the rest of the partners). All that remained was Mario, Peach, Luigi, and Malon, but Luigi explained that he was going to see that Malon got home safely, and left with her. So that left only Mario and Peach.

"Well that was eventful," Peach stated, staring up into the night sky. Mario nodded- he couldn't agree more. "I just wish that Tippi could be here with the rest of us…literally everyone was here but her…"

Mario looked thoughtful for a moment before suddenly tugging on Peach's dress. What he was seeing was way too good to be true! Peach turned to the direction Mario was pointing and gasped.

"T-Tippi…?"

A rainbow butterfly was flying at them as fast as it could possibly go, but when it got close enough, Peach could clearly see that it was not her Soul Partner.

"But…it looks so close…" Peach trailed, noting the only difference were the antennas. Mario nudged Peach again, this time pointing out that there was a note tied around the Tippi-like creature. Gently, Peach removed it off the butterfly and opened it up.

_Dear Princess Peach,_

_I've had a lovely time travelling with you all...it was the most excitement I've experienced in a long time. But now that I'm reunited with Blumiere, it's time to start a new adventure of my own. Your friends, Peach, they are very special, and not just because they are the Heroes of Light. When I was cursed to wander through dimensions forever, I grew a sick hatred of all the places I wandered through, fueled by a longing to just go home. I almost wanted to die and get it over with... That's why I nearly wore myself out...but you and your friends...you treat each new thing as a new adventure, take it head on, and find the best in every situation. And better yet, you never forget that the one place where you truly belong is with your friends, no matter what world or dimension that you are in._

_I wanted to thank you all for showing me that...and Peach? I have a weird feeling that you'll miss me most of all…so I give to you Tiptron- something Francis built to look like me in my Pixl form. I used up all my coins to buy Tiptron for you- I don't need the money anyway. Now you'll always have a little piece of me right by your side. And when you show Link, tell him I thought of a great nickname! ...E-Tipps! He'll probably get a kick out of that, ha ha!_

_Yours forever,_

_Lady Timpani, aka Tippi, aka Tipps_

Peach felt her eyes start to shimmer as she finished reading the note, glancing up at Tiptron.

"I'm Tippi! Ask me anything, and I'll be happy to help you, Peach!" Tiptron spoke, as if she actually was Tippi.

Peach held the note close to her heart, staring at the ground briefly lost in thought. Eventually, she wiped away a tear and looked back up, her smile brightening the night. She cast out her hand, in which Tiptron landed on. The princess eventually turned to Mario, feeling truly happy for the first time in a long time.

However, instead of reciting some wise quote summing up her experiences, Peach voiced out her desire for something that she really wanted.

"…it's been a long day, Mario. Let's head on home."

Mario nodded and prepared to teleport, but not before glancing into Hyrule's night sky once more. He had been through so much during the last adventure, let alone everything in his entire life alone…shoot, Mario probably experienced more things than any other human being possibly could!

But it was something about those experiences that made having_ more_ worthwhile…

At least, until it was time to go home.

All there was left for Mario to do now was teleport home with Peach, kick back, relax, and await the next adventure.

Everything has a purpose, even if somewhere along the road it wasn't truly meant to be…

…even if it was all unintentional.

* * *

**SO MUCH ROMANCE! *explodes from overload* **

**Anyway, I feel I probably could've executed that chapter a bit better, but I'm satisfied with the final product. :) I'd mention a thing or two about the chapter itself, but if any certain questions or comments pop up in the reviews, then I'll just explain things then.**

**Okay, _anyway_...yeah, that was the epilogue! A great tale comes to an end, and a trilogy sees its finale (maybe). I thank you ALL, whether you were a friend that has been around from the very beginning, or a newer fan who loved the story(ies) all the same. I don't think I would have had the motivation to keep going without all of you. ^^**

**May we meet again in another time and place. ^^**


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